The heatwave last week impacting large parts of the Southwestern U.S. is likely the beginning of what many experts warn will be a potentially record-breaking hot summer, increasing the risk of an active wildfire season. As wildfire season heats up, water and wastewater utilities are encouraged to utilize EPA’s free resources to strengthen their preparedness and resilience efforts.
Already this year, the acreage burned by wildfire has eclipsed the 10-year-average, according to data from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). Importantly, temperatures are trending above average across the U.S. from June through August, which could set the stage for a very active wildfire season, according to the National Weather Service. Forecasters from the NIFC wrote in an outlook released at the beginning of the month that “the period of peak fire season conditions very well could linger much longer than usual through the summer and early fall months.” Read the full NIFC outlook or read a related media article.
With the potential for a very active fire season, water and wastewater utilities are encouraged to start preparing now for any potential impacts. Wildfires present a direct risk to property and water and wastewater infrastructure assets, in addition to potential degradation of the water supply, according to EPA. To help utilities enhance their resilience, EPA and CISA have created multiple free resources and online tools:
- EPA – Incident Action Checklist – Wildfire - Provides information on preparedness and response actions water utilities can take in a wildfire incident.
- EPA – Wildfire Conditions and Risk Map for Utilities - Provides information on current, past, and potential future wildfire conditions in the U.S. for utilities to assess the potential for wildfire near their facilities or within their watersheds.
- CISA – Wildfires - includes additional links to other fire preparedness resources.
