My wildland fire experience began in 1973 at a U.S. Forest Service fire research lab, conducting early fire behavior studies. My time on firelines across Alaska and throughout the lower 48 states spans from 1978 to 2012.
I have been teaching about fire in one form or another since 2012 and continue today. That 44-year period is nothing compared to geologic time, but it has had an impression on me.
Overall, I have observed temperatures getting hotter earlier in the year, rising higher during the summer and remaining hotter later in the year. Humidity (air moisture content) has followed the same pattern: lower earlier in the year, staying low throughout the summer and later in the year. Nightly humidity recovery also does not seem to occur as it once did. [Read more…]