Signal: Texans wildfires spring 2011
TexasDrought2011April

Record drought drying out Texas, fueling record wildfires

by on 27. Apr, 2011 in Uncategorized

March 2011 was the driest on record for the state of Texas. Parts of west Texas received no measurable rainfall during the month and less than an inch of precipitation over the past six months. The whole state settled into drought, with extreme to exceptional drought claiming many areas. March also brought exceptionally warm temperatures, [...]

texas_fire_area25April2011

April wildfires worst on record in the U.S.

by on 26. Apr, 2011 in Uncategorized

According to the Interagency Fire Center, wildfires in 2011 have already burned nearly 2.3 million acres in the U.S. This is the greatest acreage on record so early in the year, and is more area than burned all of last year. The largest U.S. acreage to burn since 1960 was the 9.9 million acres that [...]

TexasPrecipTotal18April2011.no

NASA: Unusually high temperatures driving Texas fires

by on 25. Apr, 2011 in Uncategorized

So far in 2011, more than 1.4 million acres have burned in Texas. Some 800 fires have occurred throughout the state, burning 401 structures and costing two firefighters their lives. Why is fire activity so extreme in Texas this year? This image, made with data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s [...]

Texasidlfires1

Climate change fueling Texas fires

by on 21. Apr, 2011 in Uncategorized

More than 1 million acres of Texas plains and forests has gone up in smoke this month as hundreds of fires blazed through the Lone Star State. Gusting winds, statewide drought and low humidity have created tinderbox conditions that state and federal firefighters are still struggling to contain. Lacking a forecast of steady downpours to [...]

TexasFiresApril2011

Fires burn 1.5 million acres in Texas, fueled by record dry conditions

by on 18. Apr, 2011 in Uncategorized

Since April 6, more than a million acres have burned throughout the state of the Texas, says the Texas Forest Service. Wind whips both smoke and dust southeast across the state. The image illustrates one of the primary reasons fire danger is extremely high in Texas: strong winds. Warm temperatures, dry vegetation for fuel, and [...]