Word: droughts
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...continued drought brings...
Welcome rains came to parts of the Midwest and South last week, soaking parched reservoirs, saving some thirsty crops and providing water for swimming pools and lawn sprinklers -but no such fortune befell the West and Southwest. There drought stubbornly persisted like a biblical plague, withering corn and wheat, drying up horse and cattle water holes, kindling brush and forest fires (including some 400 in California), and cutting back on water and energy supplies for about 30 million Americans...
Already the obstinate drought has wrought profound changes in the lives of residents of the still-seared areas. The cost to Colorado's agricultural industry has risen to more than $300 million, and many towns have introduced water rationing. Denver officials have rigidly restricted lawn watering to three hours every third day by threatening violators with fines. Water consumption in June and July dropped 28% from a prior five-year average for the same period. Typically, Denver Lawyer Tim Segar says he and his wife spurn dinner parties because it is their sprinkler night: "Friends also...
...balmy evening last week, a young man was flying his box kite in a posh residential neighborhood to the northeast of Santa Barbara, Calif. Suddenly the kite swooped into power lines, causing a short circuit that showered sparks and ignited the drought-dried chaparral below. Whipped by winds of up to 40 m.p.h., the blaze roared down the hills on a one-mile front toward the coastal city (pop. 73,000). Said one awed witness: "Homes went up with a huge whoosh and puff. Palm trees exploded like Roman candles...
...houses, some of them worth as much as $350,000. There were no fatalities or serious injuries, but the total damage-estimated at up to $20 million-made the blaze the worst ever in Santa Barbara's history. Fire Chief William Patterson warned that because of the drought the fire season would last several months longer than usual. Said he: "This is only the prelude...