Rainfall Shortage In West Michigan Raises Fire Risk

It doesn't take a very observant eye to notice how DRY it is around West Michigan. The leaves are already turning colors (the tree in front of my house already requires raking), making driving a lovely sight but creating a major fire risk. Everyone's grass, minus my neighbor who obsessively waters his lawn twice daily, is yellow and dead.

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So just how little rain have we gotten, when can we expect more, and what can we do to mitigate the risk of a wildfire?

Photo by Ilham Rahmansyah on Unsplash

Rainfall In Last 30 Days

While for a good chunk of this summer, it felt like it was raining every day, it seems the clouds had a change of heart and decided they wanted to disappear, giving us nearly 100% sunshine for the last 15 days.

Few clouds, lots of sunshine, and no rain have thoroughly baked the grass. West Michigan has gotten less than 1 inch of rainfall since August 15th. Our rainfall totals are well below the usual average for this time of year. By now, Grand Rapids usually has about 4 inches of rainfall in this one-month stretch.

NOAA

There is hope on the horizon for rain this weekend as temperatures cool down and fall officially begins, but as things stand, it's going to continue to be hot.

Fire Risk

Grand Rapids is still at its average rainfall for the year, but due to the lack of rain, much of Michigan (especially Northern Michigan) is under a wildfire watch. Firefighters and emergency personnel are on standby in case a fire was to spark on the flammable dry vegetation around Northern Michigan.

10 Tips To Prevent Wildfires

Smokey The Bear said it best, "only you can prevent wildfires." Well, it's a lot easier said than done, Smokey. Great name for a bear trying to warn us about fire hazards, by the way.

In order to prevent wildfires, you have to first know how they can be prevented. Here are 10 tips provided by the Department Of Interior that will help you in your every day life, so you can enjoy being outside, camping, and having bonfires without it turning into a problem.

Here are their 10 tips, along with some simplified explanations from me.

Gallery Credit: Cort Freeman