4.7
Climatological and Meteorological Causes and Effects of the 1999 and 2000 Wildfire Seasons in the Western Great Basin
Robert P. Nester, NOAA/NWS, Missoula, MT
The fire seasons of 1999 and 2000, in the Western Great Basin, were two of the busiest seasons on record. The combination of abnormally large amounts of fuels combined with numerous occurences of dry thunderstorm activity and dry cold frontal passages produced record numbers of wildland fires and acres burned. The purpose of this paper is to examine the meteorological and climatological events which led to increased fuels, and examine the meteorological events which either ignited or aided fire starts and large wildland fire growth. Finally, this paper will also examine how Modernization and Reorginization (MAR) succeeded in Nevada through improved National Weather Service technological advances. These advances helped to vastly improve coordination and interagency cooperation with, utlimately providing crucial and timely information for Fire Managers, Incident Commanders and Coordination Centers. Finally this increased coordination provided for the main support of fire use customers, the safety of the firefighter working to help save lives and protect property.
Session 4, Climate Analysis: Continued
Wednesday, 14 November 2001, 10:10 AM-12:10 PM
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