Drought Relief Isn't In Sight

The hot and dry weather that has fueled wildfires in Western states is expected to last through September, forecasters said Thursday.

"The summer outlook does not bode well for the wildfire situation," said John E. Jones Jr., deputy director of the National Weather Service. "Prolonged drought, coupled with high temperatures, and strong winds, spell fire danger anywhere."

Since January, wildfires have burned nearly 1.4 million acres from New Jersey to California, nearly twice the yearly average for this time of year, the agency said. Currently, 19 large fires are burning, including six in Colorado.

Forecasters expect above-normal rainfall over much of Colorado and eastern Utah, but the extra rain won't be enough to improve drought conditions, Jones said.

Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana, northern Nevada and northern California are expected to get below-normal rainfall.

Late-season snowfall in parts of Montana has improved conditions there, but serious drought problems remain, the forecasters said.

Jones said states in the West, including the Southwest and southern Texas, are likely to experience above-normal temperatures through September.

Along the East Coast, forecasters predict that drought conditions will slowly improve this summer. Spring rains have already brought relief to areas from Washington to Boston.

"The precipitation made a dent in the drought, especially across the Appalachians and Northeast, but as a whole, the East is not out of the woods yet," said Jim Laver, director of the government's Climate Prediction Center. He said problems remain, especially in the Southeast.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration also announced that it had developed a new way to use satellites to automatically detect wildfires and relay those images every 30 minutes to fire managers and scientists. The system, which could be used to track fast-growing fires or find them in remote areas, will likely be up and running by September.