{"id":5915,"date":"2026-05-13T18:32:24","date_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:32:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915"},"modified":"2026-05-13T18:32:24","modified_gmt":"2026-05-13T18:32:24","slug":"as-drought-worsens-western-states-brace-for-wildfires-water-shortages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915","title":{"rendered":"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Alex Brown, Stateline.org<\/strong><\/p>\n

From the Rockies to the Cascades to the Sierra Nevada, mountainsides across the West are sparsely covered by the snow that usually blankets the high country well into the summer.<\/p>\n

Read more Tom Steyer\u2019s hedge fund past complicates his run as California\u2019s anti-billionaire billionaire<\/a><\/p>\n

That snowpack is like a savings account that the West draws on when the hot, dry months arrive. It moistens the landscape as it melts, lessening the risk of severe wildfire. The runoff feeds into river basins, and the swelling waterways provide power to hydroelectric dams, irrigation to farmers and drinking water to cities.<\/p>\n

This year, Western states are heading into the summer with a desperately low balance \u2014 threatening wildfires, drinking water, crops, electricity and more.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been an extremely poor year,\u201d said Sharon Megdal, director of the Water Resources Research Center, a research unit at the University of Arizona. \u201cThis has gotten a lot of people concerned and alarmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

While a late-season storm brought heavy snow to parts of the Rockies this month, the region remains in a deep snowpack deficit.<\/p>\n

As warmer weather arrives, states are preparing for a dangerous wildfire season across the drought-stricken West. Farmers and cities are bracing for potential cutbacks in their water allocations from rivers that have less to give. Fisheries managers are watching for low river flows that could threaten vital salmon runs. And worsening conditions could threaten the supply of hydropower that provides cheap, clean electricity to many Western states.<\/p>\n

A hot, dry winter<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Across nearly the entire West, states spent the winter waiting for snow that rarely arrived. Ski resorts lost millions of visitors as they struggled to stay open. Then in March, a record-breaking heat wave settled across the region, shrinking the already paltry snowpack.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s unheard of,\u201d Megdal said. \u201cThings were already looking bad in January, but if you follow the projections, they had to keep revising the numbers downward because the snow just never came and we had this hugely hot period in March.\u201d<\/p>\n

The federal National Water and Climate Center produces a real-time map showing the snow water equivalent in river basins across the country \u2014 a measurement of how much moisture is being held in those mountaintop savings accounts.<\/p>\n

The majority of the West is bright red, indicating that snowpack is at less than 50% of the median level for this time of year. Yellow and orange cover most of the remaining areas, showing regions that are still well below the median.<\/p>\n

The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map shows most of the country in abnormally dry or drought conditions, aside from the Great Lakes region and some other parts of the Midwest.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Wildfire<\/strong><\/h3>\n

For many Western states, the most imminent threat from the dry winter is the prospect of a dangerous wildfire season.<\/p>\n

Already, wildfires in Nebraska have burned hundreds of thousands of acres, shattering records and setting the stage for a record wildfire year.<\/p>\n

The wildland fire outlook maps produced by the National Interagency Fire Center show above-normal fire risk spreading across much of the West by June and July.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of red on the map,\u201d said Matthew Dehr, wildland fire meteorologist with the Washington state Department of Natural Resources.<\/p>\n

Dave Upthegrove, Washington\u2019s public lands commissioner, said his agency is preparing for fire season as normal but with a heightened awareness that this summer could be demanding. He\u2019s focused on educating residents about the risks, noting that 90% of wildfires in Washington are caused by humans.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we\u2019re likely to see are wildfires moving more quickly through forests,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen we do have a large fire event, it\u2019s likely to move faster, be more significant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Ancient teeth hint at canoodling between early human relatives<\/a><\/p>\n

He also noted that this year is Washington\u2019s fourth consecutive year of drought conditions, making trees more susceptible to diseases and pests and compounding wildfire risk.<\/p>\n

Dehr said spring rains could provide a bit of a buffer before the heat of July and August, but a recent stretch of sunny weeks has yet to provide relief.<\/p>\n

Upthegrove noted that the challenging conditions across much of the West could make it more difficult for states to send wildfire crews to each other\u2019s aid, if many states are battling big blazes simultaneously.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs the climate crisis pushes a forest health crisis pushes a wildfire crisis, it\u2019s going to stress the whole system, not just in our state,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Low water supplies<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Many Western states also rely on snowpack to feed rivers that provide irrigation for farming and the water supply for cities. In particular, the Colorado River provides water for tens of millions of people across seven states, a region that has grown even as the river\u2019s supply has dwindled in recent decades. Reservoirs that were full at the turn of the century are now nearing critically low levels.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere hasn\u2019t been enough flow in the river to meet all these expected demands, even in the good years,\u201d said Megdal, the water researcher. \u201cWe\u2019ve used up our savings and storage, so now what do we do?\u201d<\/p>\n

Water allocations for states, tribes and farmers in the region are governed by a complicated and fiercely contested system known as the Colorado River Compact. In recent years, cutbacks due to the low supply reduced the water allocation for central Arizona, including all of the water for agricultural users.<\/p>\n

Now, states are fighting over even less water and struggling to negotiate who should bear the cost. Last week, Arizona, California and Nevada submitted a proposal to federal officials that would impose further cutbacks over the next two years in order to buy time for a longer-term deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s turning out to be very hard to get the states to agree on how to slice up a much smaller pie,\u201d Megdal said. \u201cThere are scenarios that are not zero probability that are catastrophic to the region.\u201d<\/p>\n

If the states are unable to reach an agreement, allocation for the river\u2019s diminished water will be determined by federal regulators under the \u201claw of the river.\u201d Cutbacks imposed by the feds could fall heavily on central Arizona, Megdal said, cutting the supply for Phoenix, Tucson and some tribal nations.<\/p>\n

Such uncertainty in the Colorado River basin and elsewhere \u201cleaves farmers making planting decisions now without knowing whether sufficient water will be available to carry crops through harvest,\u201d the American Farm Bureau Federation wrote in an April report.<\/p>\n

The lack of water could force farmers to remove trees or vineyards, the Farm Bureau noted, or reduce cattle herds if the parched landscape does not supply enough forage.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, rivers running at a slow trickle could reduce the hydroelectric power produced by dams across the West. Across 13 Western states, hydropower accounts for nearly a quarter of electrical generation.<\/p>\n

The Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona, which forms Lake Powell, produces about 5 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity each year, enough to power nearly half a million homes. But the lake level may soon fall below a threshold from which the dam can no longer generate power.<\/p>\n

\u201cHydropower is so incredibly important because it has been the lowest-cost power for many in the West,\u201d Megdal said. \u201cThere are big implications for the energy grid and the cost of electricity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stateline reporter Alex Brown can be reached at<\/em> abrown@stateline.org<\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a92026 States Newsroom. Visit at stateline.org. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.<\/p>\n

Read more Orange County scores and player stats for Tuesday, May 12<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Farmers and cities are bracing for potential cutbacks in their water allocations from rivers that have less to give.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5914,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5915","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-facts","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAs drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Farmers and cities are bracing for potential cutbacks in their water allocations from rivers that have less to give.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-13T18:32:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T18:32:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915\"},\"wordCount\":1268,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ef8502dec8efc131fd7a08b5810c60f6.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Facts\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915\",\"name\":\"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ef8502dec8efc131fd7a08b5810c60f6.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-13T18:32:24+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ef8502dec8efc131fd7a08b5810c60f6.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/ef8502dec8efc131fd7a08b5810c60f6.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":683},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=5915#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"Farmers and cities are bracing for potential cutbacks in their water allocations from rivers that have less to give.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-05-13T18:32:24+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages","datePublished":"2026-05-13T18:32:24+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915"},"wordCount":1268,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ef8502dec8efc131fd7a08b5810c60f6.webp","articleSection":["Facts","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915","name":"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ef8502dec8efc131fd7a08b5810c60f6.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-13T18:32:24+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ef8502dec8efc131fd7a08b5810c60f6.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/ef8502dec8efc131fd7a08b5810c60f6.webp","width":1024,"height":683},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=5915#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"As drought worsens, Western states brace for wildfires, water shortages"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}