Drought conditions, wildfire risks worsen as extreme heat continues across North Texas

The National Weather Service has put much of North Texas under an excessive heat warning, and the persisting heat and dryness means the region is facing intense drought conditions and an increasing threat of wildfires as the week goes on.

The U.S. Drought Monitor shows the Dallas-Fort Worth region falling within the abnormally dry to severe drought range.

Frank Owsley, a professor at Tarleton State University's College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, said especially dry conditions in counties further west such as Tarrant, Denton and Wise counties generally make the drought worse.

"Typically the further east we go ... the more humidity we have," Owsley said. "The further west we go, we get into more of an arid climate where you would literally expect less rainfall."

These same conditions — extreme heat, low humidity, high winds in some areas — create an ideal atmosphere for wildfires to form across the region. It's why much of the state is under a burn ban.

But Adam Turner, a spokesperson for the Texas A&M Forest Service, said the risk of wildfires isn't just limited to more rural or less heavily populated areas. The majority of fires are caused by humans, he said, who are moving across North Texas in increased numbers.

"We're seeing more of what we call the wildland-urban interface," Turner said. "That's where people and wildlands interact with each other. We're seeing more and more of that built, which is typically where we see more and more of these kind of dangerous wildfires, because there are homes where previously there weren't."

Activities that create ideal conditions for wildfires include tossing lit cigarettes onto the ground, chains dragging off moving cars, barbecuing and even mowing the lawn, especially if the grass contains rocks.

North Texas is seeing fewer 100-degree days than last year, but generally higher humidity, making the heat feel worse, according to Patricia Sanchez with the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

And while there may be a chance next week of temperatures returning to the upper 90s — and even a slight chance of rain — Sanchez said the extreme heat's not over yet.

"If we're looking at climatology, we do have more 100-degree days," Sanchez said. "We still have another month or so of the potential of staying with the hot temperatures, as we typically have."

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