A week of sunny weather as trees shed leaves to create a bed of dry fuel on forest floors has raised the state’s danger level for wildfires to “high” for the first time in months.
Although much of New Hampshire has been in a mild drought for much of the year, the state has seen just enough rainstorms spread out over just enough weeks to keep the official designation of wildfire risk at the low or moderate level virtually all summer.
On Friday, however, the daily Fire Weather Class announcement from the state said the risk was high for every part of New Hampshire.
Wildfire risk often rises in autumn as deciduous trees shed their leaves, allowing sunlight to get to the forest floor and dry out material that accumulates there.
