The World Daily
The state of Utah has gone dry. It has not been that bad since 2001

Firemen fought the fire that was fueled by the drought. Photo:Reuters

 

The World Daily | News Desk           JUNE  13th   2021 

 

Hundreds of firefighters in the US state of Utah fought a fire outside the town of Helper. Over 3,200 hectares of land have been destroyed. The drought is very severe in the west of the United States.

 

Helper is in the middle of the state. It is inhabited by over two thousand people. Before the firefighters extinguished the fire, an area of ​​over 3,200 hectares was burned down. Due to the raging fire, the main road connecting the west with the east of the state was closed many times.

According to the authorities, the fire started with a lightning strike. The services emphasize, however, that the fire season started earlier than usual. Drought is exacerbating the problem.

"We haven't seen conditions like this since 2001-2002," said Jason Porter of the government's Bureau of Land Management. 

 

Drought in many places

The vast majority of Utah is affected by an "exceptional" drought - the highest degree of intensity on a five-point ascending scale. In other areas, drought is rated as "extreme", "severe" or "moderate".

Conditions are similar across the western United States. Reuters news agency points out that farmers in the western United States are concerned about this year's harvest, as 72 percent of the region is suffering from severe drought. It includes Utah, California, Nevada, Oregon, Arizona, and New Mexico, but also the northern parts of the Great Plains.

On the map below, the darkest colour marks the places with the highest intensity of drought. 

 

Drought in the Western United States (droughtmonitor.unl.edu)

 

© The World Daily 2021 | News Desk

Source: Reuters 

 

 

Categories:
World
Tags:
North AmericaUSADroughtsGlobal Warming