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Show Due to extremely dry weather conditions experienced exper-ienced throughout the entire state during the past few months, the fire season will be activated earlier than in past years, according to Deputy Wally Fotheringham. State Forester Paul L. Sjoblom informed wardens this week the fire season will begin at 12:01 a.m., Sunday, May 1, 1977. Evidence of the necessity of such precautions were apparent ap-parent this week as fire burned a stack of bailed hay and part of Leko's corrals at the Green Diamond Ranch. Cause of the fire was not. determined. Monday lightening started a fire in the junipers about eight miles southeast of Milford Mil-ford in the Mineral Range. Fast action by local fire fighters kept the fire from spreading. Both the Milford and the South Milford Departments answered the calls. Damage was held to a minimum. The drought outlook in the western United States continues con-tinues to be grim, according accord-ing to hydrologists of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmos -pheric Administration (NOAA) and the Agriculture Department's Soil Conservation Conser-vation Service. In the April issue of "Water "Wa-ter Supply Outlook, 1976-77, for the Western United States", NOAA's National Weather Service hydrologists hydrolo-gists said there had been little improvement over most of the area during March. Precipitation during the month varied widely, ranging rang-ing from well below normal in California and most of the Colorado and Great Basins Ba-sins to as much as five times normal over some headwater areas of the Missouri River. However, except for these areas of the Missouri Basin, March precipitation was not sufficient to bring anticipated anticipat-ed snowmelt runoff for the water-year ending Sept. 30, 1977, to near normal, and the outlook for large areas remains critical. Although the mountains of northern Utah received above -normal precipitation during March, ranging up to 200 percent of normalatSalt Lake City where a record snowfall for March occured, precipitation over the Great Basin generally was below normal. Forecasts of runoff are about 50 percent of the 15 -year average on northern Utah streams, the Sevier Basin Ba-sin in southern Utah, and the Owens Basin in California. Elsewhere, runoff is expected expect-ed to be 20 to 40 percent of the average, except in the Carson and Humboldt basins (Continued on Page 2) HERE'S MORE ABOUT Drought makes where it will be less than 10 percent. The Little Colorado and Gila Rivers in eastern Arizona Ari-zona received above -normal precipitation during March, but the rest of the Colorado River Basin generally had well below normal precipitation. precipi-tation. Amounts varied greatly, however, ranging from zero to 125 percent of normal. Seasonal precipitation precipita-tion amounts are also well below normal less than 50 percent of normal at many stations except for the Little Colorado and Gila Basins which have seasonal accumulations accumu-lations of 60 to 100 percent of normal. The streamflow outlook for the remainder of the water -year ranges from 17 to 61 percent of the average ave-rage and is generally in the range of 30 to 45 percent. Everybody is urged to be extra careful with fire this season. The closed season lasts from May 1 to October 31. Permits are necessary for any fires during that period. The proclamation reads: That "during the closed season it shall be a misdemeanor misde-meanor to set on fire, or cause to be set on fire any inflammable material on any forest, brush, range, grass, grain, stubble or hay land without first securing a written writ-ten permit from the state forester or a designated deputy, de-puty, and complying fully with the terms and conditions prescribed pre-scribed in the permit." In Beaver County you should contact Deputy Wally F other oth-er Ingham, the district fire warden, for permits. |
