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Idaho Matters

Predicting wildfire behavior with fuel moisture

A look at how drier weather can affect wildfires and how taking stock of plant moisture can help predict its behavior.

Broadcast on:
19 Sep 2022

Taylor Zarifis plucks live leaves off of sagebrush to demonstrate how to collect samples to measure fuel moisture levels.
Taylor Zarifis plucks live leaves off of sagebrush to demonstrate how to collect samples to measure fuel moisture levels. (Madelyn Beck / Mountain West News Bureau)

The world of wildland firefighting has a lot of wonky lingo, but one key phrase is "fuel moisture" - and no, we're not talking about oil and gas. It refers to how much water is in certain plants that could fuel a wildfire.

The Mountain West News Bureau's Madelyn Beck explained how scientists measure it and why it's so important.