THE WEST - Wildfires and Dry Wells

"West U.S. wildfires are so extreme that they’re creating lightning, fire whirls" PBS NewsHour 7/20/2021

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SUMMARY:  More than 80 large fires are burning in 13 states across the U.S. currently, impacting nearly 1.3 million acres.  One of the worst remains in Southern Oregon — the Bootleg Fire.  It has been burning for two weeks and has already scorched an area a third of the size of Rhode Island.  Carrie Bilbao with the National Interagency Fire Center joins William Brangham with the latest on the fires.

 

 

"Californians scramble for fresh water as taps, wells run dry" PBS NewsHour 7/20/2021

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SUMMARY:  The severe drought across the Western U.S. is already causing long term problems, exacerbated by the warming atmosphere driven by climate change.  As William Brangham reports from California’s San Joaquin Valley, the demand for water has threatened the drinking supply for hundreds of thousands of rural residents — including the farmers who grow a significant part of the country’s food supply.