Drought means increase in wildfire risk, but there’s steps you can take to protect your property

Multiple areas in Texas are preparing for wildfire risk because of low rainfall and increased amounts of dry grass.

Firefighters  have already responded to 70 wildfires since March 12. There have not been any fatalities or serious property damage. But there’s the potential for more wildfires heading into the weekend.

Wes Moorehead is associate director of Forest Resource Protection and fire chief at the Texas A&M Forest Service. He says state and local agencies’ rapid response times have helped minimize fire damage so far. Listen to the full interview with Moorehead in the audio player above or read the highlights below to learn more.

Highlights from this interview:

– Wildfires can do more damage these days because of the state’s booming population. As Texas grows, more people are moving into traditionally rural areas where there is lots of natural vegetation that fuels fires.

– Over 90% of the state is experiencing drought. Current forecasts do not show signs of that changing in the near future.

– How to protect your property from wildfire: remove flammable materials, like firewood, from the outside of your home and clean dry leaves out of gutters.

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