Despite an unusually mild winter and wet May, Tooele County looks on pace for an average wildfire season, according to county fire marshal Tom Wilson.
Most of the information has predicted periods of wet and dry weather through June, which has been accurate so far, he said. The rain in May has caused an increase in the growth of vegetation, he said.
“That’s going to encourage those grasses to grow,” Wilson said. “That’s going to be the main carrier of our fires.”
Once the rain stops and the weather becomes warmer and drier, it will prime those grasses for fires, he said. In July and August, fire hazards such as wind, dry lightning and campers become more prevalent, he said.
The dead grass from last year is still under the green grass that has masked some fire activity this year, Wilson said. It only takes a day of 90 degree temperatures and wind to dry the green grass, he said.
All indicators point toward an average fire season, despite the extra May growth and typically dry summer months ahead, Wilson said. The National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, predicts the state of Utah will fall in the normal wildland fire potential category through September.
Oregon and Washington, as well as portions of California, Idaho, Montana and Arizona, are in the above normal range for wildland fires in the NIFC forecast, released in the beginning of June.
In the beginning and end of the fire season — spring and early fall — the majority of wildfires are the result of human activity, Wilson said. As many as 90 percent of those early and late season fires are caused by untended fires, vehicles and other man-made causes, he said.
It’s important people are cautious about what they’re doing when camping or traveling in areas prone to wildfires, Wilson said.
