MORE austerity for the rest of us: FIRE SEASON – Congressional budget cuts of over $500m could leave crews scrambling for resources in an already overactive fire season Fire experts are warning that $512m in congressional budget cuts could leave communities dangerously exposed in an early and active fire season. “A person has to wonder. Is this going to be the new norm – frequent record-setting fires, while the number of federal firefighters and air tankers continue to shrink?”wrote Bill Gabbert, a former fire management officer in the Black Hills of South Dakota. – Raw Story
- That’s great news when combined with this news: drought expands throughout USA – Only two states — Ohio and Alaska — are entirely free of abnormally dry or drought conditions, according to the Drought Monitor. The drought is expanding into some areas where dryness is rare, such as New England. – USA Today
The USA hasn’t been this dry in five years.
