Trees and shrubs affected, fire danger extreme in Bernalillo County, New Mexico
6/19/2013 4:01:26 PM
CATEGORIES:
Fire
Plants & Wildlife
Society & Public Health
AFFECTED AREAS:
Bernalillo County, NM
Start Date: 10/1/2012
- End Date: 6/10/2013
This year has been unusually dry even for the desert Southwest. We have only had 1.96" of rain so far this calendar year. A combination of warm weather in late winter followed by a hard frost (22F) in mid spring killed off much of the new deciduous growth, including buds and leaves. The frost combined with the drought has severely stunted the growth of all plants and trees. The deciduous shrubs have been hit the worst. Even with supplemental water we have lost two fruit trees and three evergreens. Many of the scrub oaks, lilacs, and butterfly bushes do not have any leaves or buds in June! A fingernail nick indicates that they are not dead, but severely stunted. Zero acorns for the bears and no visible new pine cones on any of the pinons or ponderosa trees. The fire danger is extreme at this time. Air quality has already been negatively impacted by wildfires near Santa Fe.
CoCoRaHS Report from Station #Tijeras 5.0 E on 6/10/2013
Sources
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Tijeras 5.0 E
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CoCoRaHS Report from Station #Tijeras 5.0 E on 6/10/2013.
Monday, June 10, 2013
