The Davis Fire burning in Washoe Valley on Monday. Photo special to The R-C by Cecilia Maglinao
The Davis Fire is expected to continue to burn but firefighters may finally get a break from the weather, though not before having to battle blustery winds accompanying a cold front today.
We don’t know what started the fire near Davis Creek Campground, though there are a host of possibilities, including Friday’s thunderstorms.
But we do know that the timber through the Sierra has been drying out over the past four months with very little in the way of rain to provide relief.
There was barely enough rain to get the streets wet in August. Other than that, it has been mid-May since more than a drop or two has fallen in Minden.
As of Sept. 3, all of Nevada is abnormally dry, according to the drought monitor with moderate drought spreading north into Mineral County and a bit in the middle of Washoe County.
We’re not certain of the precise biology, but a lot of Carson Valley maples are starting to turn, possibly signaled by the brief cool spell two weeks ago.
With only 19 days left in the water year, the ditches are dry, and the river is barely a trickle, with a few deeper spots providing refuge to water birds of various feather.
September isn’t a particularly wet month, but with June, July and August all posting slim or no rain totals, it amounts to a third of the water year.
Our odd wet spring will bring the numbers up to average for the water year, but that was then, this is now.
Forecasters have issued a red flag warning for today, but we suggest that perhaps we should treat every day as if there were a red flag warning until the snow flies.
And probably even then, too.
