'This has never happened': California's only wildfire research center makes scary discovery

[WhiteTara]

https://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/fuel-moisture-content-California-wildfire-16087019.php?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

"I was shocked when we went up there because usually in April we have a lot of new growth and old growth, and we didn’t see any new growth on the shrubs," said Craig Clements, a SJSU professor and director of the center. "We weren't seeing any of the lighter colored, bright green new growth sprouting out of the growth. Usually we take clippings of new stems and there weren't any. This has never happened."

Clements shared an image (above) from the expedition on Twitter and wrote, "The lack of rain this season has severely impacted our chaparral live fuel moistures. Wow, never seen April fuels look so... dry. No new growth anywhere in this Chamise. April is climatologically the highest live FMC of the season. Very Scary!"

This year the fuel-moisture content across the Santa Cruz Mountains is terrifyingly low as the state moves out of a second, consecutive rainy season marked by dry conditions. The 2020-2021 winter was the third driest on record, according to the California Department of Water Resources. The region's reservoirs are beginning to see the impact and are at half their total capacity.

Clements said that the lab manages three FMC sites in the mountain range — the one on Mount Umunhum, another in Scotts Valley, and one in the hills behind Los Gatos — and measurements have all been dismal. All three sites are part of the National Fuel Moisture Database that was launched in 2001 and has become a tool for fire behavior specialists working fires. The data collected in April will be used by firefighting agencies — including Calfire and the U.S. Forest Service — in coming months when blazes spark in the Santa Cruz Mountains and across the state.

Stay safe out there my friends.

[Duppers]

1. My mother used to say about such events

"Well, how did weee cause it?!"

Yes, she was a RC.

[msfiddlestix]

8. what is an RC?

[NurseJackie]

11. Real Character? Royal Crown?

I reviewed this list... but nothing seems to fit

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=RC

[msfiddlestix]

12. ha ha. useless abbreviations.. I try to ignore but wanted to understand

the reference.. pointless I guess.

[msfiddlestix]

13. deleted duplicate

something in the software inexplicably duplicates my posts sometimes.

[Duppers]

20. The 2 largest groups of warming deniers...

Republican // Christians.

These Christian think only god can control these things, so we shouldn't worry. Or if we're being harmed, it's because of our sins.

Yes, our "sins" of our use of polluting fossil fuel burning & our overly populating the planet which cannot support 8+Billion people. But these Repub Christians won't acknowledge these things.

[msfiddlestix]

22. In other Words, Religious Cults, should have thought of it myself.

thanks!

[Duppers]

23. You're welcome.

Glad you asked! In retrospect, think most folks probably didn't know what I was talking about either.

[Silver Gaia]

2. OMG. That is terrifying in so many ways,

[niyad]

3. C3-- catastrophic climate change, is real. We are in for a very scary fire season.

[Hugin]

4. I've been seeing the opposite plant reactions locally.

Everything is blooming like crazy.

Which is also bad because it means the plants are stressed. We had a brief burst of moisture about a month ago and the native fauna is drought resistant. I only hope they can complete their cycle before they dry out and die in bloom which looking at the extended forecast is doubtful.

[PatSeg]

5. What region do you live in?

[Hugin]

9. The very center of the desert sw.

After that spate of moisture we've been at 5% humidity for the last three weeks with a steady wind/breeze.

I can only remember one similar incident decades ago when during a very cold winter we had a false summer and everything bloomed with leaves coming out. The cold returned killing all of the new growth. When spring came for real there was quite a bit of second growth. That was a bad fire season during the summer.

[PatSeg]

15. Thanks

I kind of figured that's where you were. Climate change is profoundly affecting pretty much everyone now.

[brer cat]

6. Very scary!

K&R

[SteelSmasher]

7. Man made

I don't know how much of this drought is man made but companies using California's water for soda and bottled water has not helped.

[Ferrets are Cool]

10. We are accelerating our demise at an alarming rate.

We are killing the oceans, the Artic ice and the rainforest. The human race is farked. It is only a matter or when, not if.

[NickB79]

14. Large areas of the US Southwest will be rendered uninhabitable

And not far off, 100 or 200 yr from now. I'm 41; I'll certainly see American climate refugees fleeing en mass in my lifetime. We're going to see a repeat of the Okie caravans of the Dust Bowl, only traveling in a different direction. More north this time.

I shudder to imagine what my 11-yr old daughter will see in her's.

[Snoopy 7]

16. Texas

Texas is also bad we went into stage 1 water restrictions a week ago, we usually don't do that until mid-summer. The heat hasn't even started and the plants are still suffering from that weird (but fun) snow storm, mid March, which was followed by a hail storm a week ago. We lost oxygen makers (plants) and there are a lot her that are showing their stress. Our Oak tree is showing stress with leaves growing on the trunk, it's trying to produce photosynthesis as much as possible but I'm afraid it's not going to make it. FERRETS ARE COOL is absolutely right...

[Hortensis]

17. It looks really bad, drought and less than 50% snowpack. We have friends

all over California, and a half sister in the Sierra Nevada, and they're all at risk, even in cities.

[McCamy Taylor]

18. The Native Americans who lived in California did not grow crops

because there wasn't enough water.

[Duppers]

21. And the dry conditions will only become worse.

😫

[LizBeth]

19. Oregon is a mix.

Further north of course, the better off. In Eugene we are a little behind in rain but further south, severe drought which brings the fires. It was hell here for a time last summer with a fire on top of Eugene. Mask for walking dog because of fire rather than mask for covid. I even used the filters for the fire unlike with covid.

[womanofthehills]

24. Where have all the animals gone?

I live in the middle of NM - 6500 ft - some call it high desert. Last yr we had a mice & pack rat infestation with more than the usual number of squirrels , lizards & rattlesnakes. Fewer bunnies because of some bunny disease. But ..it’s like the mice and rats have disappeared along with most of the rabbits, lizards and squirrels. Maybe hungry coyotes have eaten them all???? Might be the drought but there is always food for animals on my land - lots of cactus and chicken scratch plus I have a small fish pond so there is always water. It’s creeping me out because it’s so abnormal. So far my trees still look good with new growth (juniper and pinyon) from a little winter snow but if we get a pathetic monsoon again this yr - I’m worried about forest fires. My best girlfriend is the fire lookout up on the mountain and she’s good because she has been doing it for many yrs - so that’s one small comforting thing. I do have lots of ravens though!