OK, I think it’s officially time to put on our dancing shoes and do our rain dances.
The forecast for the coming days predicts continued warm temperatures, low relative humidity and little chance of rain paired with more wind — exactly what we don’t want to see during a weak monsoon season.
Meanwhile, fires continue to burn and pop up in neighboring counties and states, reminding us of the possibilities we could face, and the river has dropped low enough to trigger additional drought restrictions for those serviced by the Pagosa Area Water and Sanitation District (PAWSD).
As of noon on Wednesday, Aug. 6, the San Juan River was flowing at 22.8 cubic feet per second (cfs) — just above the record low of 20 cfs set in 2000. The median value for Aug. 6 is 133 cfs, and the mean is 217 cfs.
PAWSD board chair Gene Tautges framed the drought restrictions as helping to protect next year’s water, and we’re grateful that, while the river is low, our water supply sources are at acceptable levels right now that we can look at it as helping for the future.
We should each do our part to conserve our water and help ensure we don’t get ourselves into an extreme bind should the weak monsoon season turn into a weak winter.
We also continue to be incredibly thankful for the wonderful, talented people who put themselves in harm’s way to fight fires as quickly as they pop up and work hard to keep them away from residences and other values whenever possible.
We lost count a long time ago of how many fires have been tended to this season, but the fact that very few have made it beyond being small starts is amazing and a testament to the knowledge and quick action of multiple agencies, as well as the mitigation work that takes place year after year.
Please ensure you follow any and all fire restrictions that are in place, and help others who may not realize those limitations are in place understand them and encourage them to follow them.
Every man-made fire that can be avoided means additional resources are more likely to be available to protect us when we need it. It could be your home or our town that needs protected next.
The extended forecast currently shows a bit more of a chance for rain next week, though the Climate Prediction Center’s outlook for Aug. 11-15 isn’t as hopeful.
We hope there will be some semblance of measurable rain and not just dry lightning to further compound problems and stretch the area’s resources.
Keep dancing, and dance like no one is watching.
Hopefully soon we’ll be singing in the rain.
Randi Pierce
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