Daily Express – Western Pacific Island News – Commentary: Only you can prevent forest fires in Guam

I recently took an extended vacation and returned to Guam to visit friends and family back home. I left Guam right after our second wettest year on record, the beginning of the 2024 dry season. I also noticed that there is nothing else here: the heat and humidity that hits you right when you walk out of the airport. It feels great outside. There is a breeze. A month later, the island is dry and the temperatures are slowly warming up. Aside from these minor trade wind disturbances that bring showers, it is dry here. Moderate droughts are common this time of year, but in an El Nino year, we can see severe or extreme droughts. We are now in the dry phase of the 2023/2024 El Nino. As vegetation dries out on the island, our fire danger is increasing.