Would you believe, more than 120 million trees have died in the Sierra in just the last decade, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy says.
Climate change and drought have taken a toll on our Sierra trees, and with not much rain since the summer, it’s a tinderbox as we’ve seen.
The lack of rain makes trees vulnerable to the Bark Beetle, which bores itself into the tree and eventually kills it.
Our recent hot and dry summers and mild winters are perfect breeding grounds.
If you see a stand of brown looking trees in the mountains, they have been infested by the beetles and must be cut down, arborists say.
The U.S. Forest Service works hard to clear out some of the dead trees with prescribed burns, but many are still standing and that provides even more fuel for our wildfires.
This is the deadliest and most destructive fire season in California history, as the Camp Fire continues burning near Chico, and the Woolsey fire near Los Angeles.
Early this year we had the Ferguson, Carr and Mendocino Complex Fire, the largest in the state’s history.
Unfortunately, our dry weather pattern and high fire danger continues for the next several days.
Bark Beetle infestation report by the Sierra Nevada Conservancy: http://www.sierranevada.ca.gov/our-region/tree-mortality Here’s another good study on the Bark Beetle infestation by the USDA Forest Service: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd563458.pdf The U.S. Forest Service does prescribed burns in the Sierra to help mitigate wildfires, here’s more information on the program: https://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/sierra/landmanagement/?cid=stelprdb5442511

Farmers in Zimbabwe are appealing for funds to irrigate their land, in hopes of fending off a possible drought predicted by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.
FAO says droughts caused by the El Nino weather pattern are recurring more often and that might affect food security.
At Mugutu farm, about 40 kilometers north of Harare, a tractor tills land ahead of the rainy season, expected any time now.
But at another farm nearby, 59-year-old Tsitsi Marjorie Makaya is focused on raising her chickens.
“We cannot do irrigation, we do not have the money to set up the irrigation system, the money to buy pipes, for electricity, we do not have the money.
We only managed to drill a borehole and that is how we water our garden.
We cannot put the whole plot under irrigation because we do not have all the necessary equipment,” Makaya said.
When asked if she was aware of the predicted El Nino drought predicted, the former vegetable vendor said it was beyond people’s control.
Sometimes they said there is not much rain and we end up having plenty of rain.
Kormawa said even smallholder irrigation schemes were improving food security and income in countries where agriculture is the backbone of the economy.

Agricultural disaster across France Some 75 departments across France are to file for "agricultural disaster" status with the country’s farming ministry due to the devastating drought that has hit parts of France since June.
According to the farming union FNSEA the damage caused by the repeated dry weather has caused between €250 million and €300 million in losses.
If the government recognises a state of agricultural disaster in a department then farmers must apply for compensation on an individual basis.
Sécheresse : 75 départements vont déposer un dossier de reconnaissance de calamité agricole https://t.co/cZLjpp1ir5 pic.twitter.com/LRoRXXlVAp — Lesinfos.online (@Infosonline) November 12, 2018 Diesel cars banned in Paris suburbs Authorities in Paris and the surrounding suburbs voted on Monday to ban diesel cars registered before 2001 from the capital and surrounding region from next summer.
The ban will apply to all roads within the A86 outer ring road and will come into force in July 2019.
Some 79 of 131 communes that make up the so-called "Grand Paris" (Greater Paris) area will be affected by the ban.
It is believed some 700,000 diesel cars are affected, meaning their owners will have to change vehicle if they want to be able to carry on driving in these areas.
Tornadoes in the west Residents in some villages in western France were left in shock after mini-tornadoes ripped up trees and left scenes of devastation on Saturday night.
The town’s bill stands at around €80,000 but by turning off around 3,000 street lights, the town’s authority hopes to cut the bill by around 15 percent.
The town centre will not be included in the experiment that will see lights go off between 1am and 6am.

Hundreds of people affected by drought in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, including farmers and students, are working at firecracker stalls in Pune city during Diwali.
An estimated 3,000 people have found jobs at these temporary outlets set up across the city during the festive season, an association of firecracker stalls here has claimed.
Maharashtra witnessed a deficient monsoon this year following which the state government declared drought in 151 talukas in 26 of the 36 districts of the state.
“But this year, since the situation is bad out there (in Marathwada), over 3,000 people, including students, farmers and agri-workers, have come to Pune and are working at various firecracker stalls,” he claimed.
Akash Kamble, a native of Sindala village in Latur district of Marathwada, said his father committed suicide three years ago after being unable to bear his debt burden.
Since then, Kamble has been coming to Pune during the festive season to work at firecracker shops and earn some money to take care of his mother and sister.
But poor rain and lack of work opportunities have become a norm in our village.
That’s why I have been coming to Pune during Diwali to find work,” the 22-year-old said.
Sonkamble, 25, who has been coming to the city for work since the past four-five years, said he hoped to earn around Rs 15,000 by the end of the festive season.
This will help them if they plan to start their own business later,” Khanchandani said.

SIXTY dairy farmers in drought declared areas of South East Queensland will get a share in $1 million raised after the price of two popular brands of milk was increased 10c a litre.
The grassroots campaign was spearheaded by open letters to the public from dairy farmers, who told of their struggles during the drought.
Among those to get involved was fourth-generation dairy farmer Scott Brown, from Rayglen Farm, Upper Pinelands, near Toowoomba.
”We had hay stored and I thought we had enough, but how much is enough for a drought like this?” he wrote.
Yes, it is full on.
The drought has made things hard financially and you really have to watch the bills coming in.
“You need money for feed for the next couple of months too, as well as money to buy seed and fertiliser for next year’s crop.” Despite the hardship, Mr Brown said it was a good life and that he had always enjoyed dairy farming.
“The reward for us is producing quality milk that’s recognised and appreciated by people who buy Dairy Farmers, the brand that our milk supplies.” Mr Brown said the public’s generosity and support in paying an extra 10 cents a litre gave hope that people out there were thinking of dairy farmers and were willing to lend a hand when times were tough.
In total, 60 dairy farmers in Queensland, 80 in NSW and 41 in Northern Victoria will get a share in the funds.
Funds will be distributed among suppliers in the drought-affected regions on a cents-per-litre basis.

Statistics California and National Drought Summary for November 6, 2018 Summary November 8, 2018 – This U.S. Drought Monitor week saw improvements on the map across portions of the Pacific Northwest as well as in the northern and central Rockies where scattered rain and mountain snow showers helped to boost snowpack levels and improve soil moisture content.
In northern Maine, this week’s rainfall and improving streamflow conditions led to reduction in areas of Abnormally Dry (D0).
South On this week’s map, improvements were made in areas of Abnormally Dry (D0) in northwestern and southern Arkansas, southeastern Louisiana, northern Mississippi, and southern Tennessee where locally heavy rainfall accumulations (2-to-5 inches) were observed.
Elsewhere in the region, above-normal precipitation during the past 30-day period and improving soil moisture conditions led to improvements in areas of Abnormally Dry (D0), Moderate Drought (D1), and Severe Drought (D2) in the Trans Pecos region of western Texas.
In Missouri, 2-to-4 inches of rain this week led to removal of the remaining area of Moderate Drought (D1) and reduction in areas of Abnormally Dry (D0) across the state.
High Plains On this week’s map, improvements were made in areas of Abnormally Dry (D0) and Moderate Drought (D1) in eastern Montana where precipitation during the past 60-day period has been above normal and soil moisture conditions have improved considerably.
West On this week’s map, conditions degraded in areas across central and northern California, western Nevada, and southern Oregon where the warm and dry pattern has persisted.
In the southeastern desert region of California, precipitation has been well above normal leading to a reduction in areas of Extreme Drought (D3) and Severe Drought (D2).
For the past 30-day period, average temperatures across the state were above normal with the largest positive anomalies observed in the Interior and western Alaska where temperatures were 9-to-13 degrees above normal.
In terms of precipitation, above-normal amounts are expected in the Eastern Tier and southern portions of Texas while below-normal precipitation is expected across the Midwest, Great Plains, and most of the West.

Since mid-April, the United States Department of Agriculture has classified all of Montezuma county as experiencing “exceptional drought,” its most severe classification.
As drought conditions around the county began to worsen this year, the Mancos Conservation District stepped in to respond.
In March, the organization began a regular river monitoring program to keep Mancos landowners and other locals up to date with the health of the Mancos River watershed, a major source of water for local properties.
Monitoring includes sampling river water, nearby plants and wildlife, riverbank soil and other indicators of the health of the water system.
The new monitoring program will provide better information to local residents and landowners who depend on the health of the watershed for their well-being.
Riparian assessments provide data that are most useful when collected over an extended period of time.
Jeff Fowlds, district technician for the Mancos Conservation District, is in charge of doing the monthly assessments.
Measures like these can provide information to local water consumers of the impact their consumption is having on the health of the watershed, and how they can respond to localized ecological events such as drought.
Beyond looking at the livelihood of bug and animal life in and around the Mancos River, the Conservation District has also started regularly sending water and soil samples to the River Watch of Colorado, a statewide water quality-monitoring program run primarily by volunteers and an educational nonprofit Earth Force.
River Watch collects volunteer-submitted samples from rivers around the state in an effort to monitor the amount of dissolved metals in the water, the amount of nutrients in the water and the livelihood of bug species affected by the health of the water system, among other watershed health indicators.

SIXTY dairy farmers in drought declared areas of South East Queensland will get a share in $1 million raised after the price of two popular brands of milk was increased 10c a litre.
The grassroots campaign was spearheaded by open letters to the public from dairy farmers, who told of their struggles during the drought.
Among those to get involved was fourth-generation dairy farmer Scott Brown, from Rayglen Farm, Upper Pinelands, near Toowoomba.
”We had hay stored and I thought we had enough, but how much is enough for a drought like this?” he wrote.
Yes, it is full on.
The drought has made things hard financially and you really have to watch the bills coming in.
“You need money for feed for the next couple of months too, as well as money to buy seed and fertiliser for next year’s crop.” Despite the hardship, Mr Brown said it was a good life and that he had always enjoyed dairy farming.
“The reward for us is producing quality milk that’s recognised and appreciated by people who buy Dairy Farmers, the brand that our milk supplies.” Mr Brown said the public’s generosity and support in paying an extra 10 cents a litre gave hope that people out there were thinking of dairy farmers and were willing to lend a hand when times were tough.
In total, 60 dairy farmers in Queensland, 80 in NSW and 41 in Northern Victoria will get a share in the funds.
Funds will be distributed among suppliers in the drought-affected regions on a cents-per-litre basis.

Promote sustainable crops, not just water-guzzlilng sugarcane Last week the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra announced a drought in 151 tehsils, nearly 42% of the state.
This is the third such drought in the state after the BJP-led government came to power on October 31, 2014.
Like the back-to-back droughts of 2014 and 2015, this time too deficit rainfall has cut agricultural produce by 50% or more, leaving lakhs of farmers with little or no income until the next harvest.
The water scarcity in some parts of the state, however, is likely to be even more acute.
But, beyond tiding over this year by organising tankers, cattle fodder camps and employment guarantee schemes, etc, it is time that the government works on a long-term plan to address scarcity that is likely to be a characteristic of climate change.
This is crucial when certain parts of the state like Marathwada, the central Maharashtra region, are turning into desert bowls.
Even though the scheme is a dynamic shift from the state’s decades-long focus on big dams, unless done scientifically it is unlikely to result in lasting change.
Improving the state’s dismal irrigation statistics – only 18% of the total cropped area is irrigated – by completing and overhauling pending projects including tail end work like canal works, setting up of water user associations especially in backward and drought areas of Marathwada and Vidarbha are one part of this.
And, promoting sustainable crops like oilseeds and pulses by providing assured prices for them.
The increase in cultivation of a water-guzzling crops like sugarcane in the most scarcity-ridden region of the state, Marathwada, at the cost of the state’s already depleted ground water table, is just one example of this.

The Queensland government is investing millions of dollars to help farmers in the Australian state better manage drought and climate events with new tools, including more reliable forecasting, insurance products and customised climate information.
A Drought and Climate Adaptation Program (DCAP) has been set up which brings together climate scientists, government and non-government agencies, producers and industry leaders to work together on research projects and partnerships.
Visiting the University of Southern Queensland (USQ), Queensland minister for agricultural industry development Mark Furner said the $21 million ($15.3 million) DCAP aims to assist the grazing, cropping and horticulture industries.
“USQ is delivering two DCAP projects through the Queensland Drought Mitigation Centre to better understand droughts and climate variability,” he said.
“The Northern Australia Climate Program is an $8 million ($5.8 million) partnership between the Queensland Government, USQ and Meat and Livestock Australia Donor Company to help the grazing industry better manage drought and climate risks.
“The project is improving reliability of multi-week, seasonal and multi-year forecasts, and establishing a network of ‘climate mates’ to support the delivery of customised climate information and products into regional networks to help with business decision-making.
Furner said the team is working with farmers to discuss production costs if there’s insufficient rainfall or soil moisture during the fallow season.
He added: “Another local DCAP project is a partnership between the Queensland government and the Bureau of Meteorology looking at improved forecasts for the vegetable industry.
“Improving multi-week and seasonal forecasts and extreme weather events such as storms and heat waves will help improve farm, business and labour management decisions and these are being trialled in the Lockyer Valley and Granite Belt regions.
“DCAP’s projects will assist our primary producers and the agri-business sector in the Darling Downs and right across Queensland to manage the negative impacts of severe climate events and take better advantage of good seasons when they occur.”