PENNSYLVANIA, USA — The National Weather Service declared an elevated fire risk in South Central Pennsylvania on June 6, while portions of Eastern Pa. reached a critical risk level.
“The fire risk currently is at a risk level that I have never seen in central Pennsylvania," said Michael Meyer, earth systems science professor at Harrisburg University.
Environmental experts blame weeks of historically dry weather.
“We haven’t seen a dry May in at least South Central Pennsylvania like this in many decades," Meyer said. "All the trees, all the woods, all the brush are all very dry and very easy to ignite.”
The National Weather Service said drought-like conditions are also raising concerns of dry thunderstorms in the northeast for the first time ever.
It’s a meteorological phenomenon that brings lightning without rain, further fueling fire potential.
“If you get any lightning from that, and it makes contact on the ground, that’s already dry and highly prone to catching on fire," Meyer said. "Of course it’s not raining, so the fires aren’t going to get put out or otherwise sequestered because of the weather event.”
The fire risk declaration comes after Pennsylvania was blanketed in smoke from Canadian wildfires this week, prompting PA’s Department of Environmental Protection to issue a code red air quality alert.
As burn bans are implemented across the region, experts are urging extra caution to avoid a similarly catastrophe here at home.
“Really be aware of [your] surroundings and how dry everything in [your] surroundings is," Meyer said. "You really want to make sure that anything that could start a fire, whether it be an electrical spark, gas, flame are all kept under tight wraps.”