Currently, 12 large fires have burned more than 67,000 acres in the Southwest, Southern, and Alaska areas, with new large wildfires reported in Texas and Virginia yesterday.
Many of the fires are burning out of control, and weather conditions are making the fire danger much worse. Over the past week, at least half of a dozen wildfires have raced across Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico, fueled by spring winds, little precipitation, and warm temperatures.
“It’s a very chaotic situation out there,” Stewart Turner, a fire behavior analyst, said during a briefing Friday night on the edge of the Santa Fe National Forest in New Mexico. “We’ve had extreme fire behavior all day.”
In Arizona, part of the Coconino National Forest, Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument outside of Flagstaff, and other popular lakes and monuments have closed. Fire restrictions went into effect Friday for National Park Services in New Mexico.
Extremely critical fire weather conditions are expected across much of New Mexico into eastern Colorado, and into Arizona, this weekend, coupled with low humidity and gusting winds.
Scattered thunderstorms, some severe, are expected to develop east of the dryline from west Texas into central South Dakota and southern Minnesota while rain develops across the northern Plains, reports the National Interagency Fire Center.
A storm system moving West will bring severe weather from Texas to Minnesota, with damaging winds, large hail, and the possibility of isolated tornados.
As of April 22, 2022, 20,006 wildfires have burned 834,238 acres. This continues to be well above the 10-year average of 13,934 wildfires and 649,898 acres burned.
