Colorado Newsline reporter Chase Woodruff posted a recent update on the 2021 wildfire season in Colorado. Here’s his summary of the situation outlook as of June 17. For a full report on the eight significant fire in the state, read the full report on Colorado Newsline.
A year after an unprecedented series of wildfires burned more than 650,000 acres in Colorado’s worst fire season on record, state and federal officials are warning that conditions in the months ahead could be just as dangerous or worse, especially in many parts of the drought-stricken Western Slope.
Already, several small blazes have called firefighters into action and caused temporary highway closures and evacuations. Smoke from larger fires in neighboring states, including the Pack Creek Fire near Moab, Utah, and the Slate Fire in northern Arizona, has led to air-quality impacts across Colorado.
With extreme drought conditions persisting west of the Continental Divide, the latest forecasts from the federal government’s National Interagency Fire Center predict “above normal” potential for large wildfires across much of the Western Slope in June and July.
Colorado’s climate has grown hotter and drier in recent decades, increasing wildfire risk. The three largest wildfires in Colorado history all occurred in 2020, and the state’s 20 biggest fires on record have all occurred in the past 20 years.
Rising concentrations of heat-trapping gases in the Earth’s atmosphere — mostly the result of fossil-fuel combustion — have caused many parts of the state, especially on the Western Slope, to warm by an average of more than 4 degrees Fahrenheit above pre-industrial levels. Severe drought conditions have persisted across the state for much of the past two decades, a historic dry spell that scientists say is driven in large part by rising temperatures.
State and federal officials have also emphasized the role of effective “forest management” in mitigating wildfire risk. In Colorado and elsewhere, aggressive suppression of wildfires throughout much of the 20th century has led to overgrown forests that are primed to burn and in need of “treatment” to reduce fuels. Contrary to some claims, however, rough terrain and low-value wood products make timber harvesting in most of Colorado’s forests impractical. The Colorado State Forest Service has estimated that about 10% of the state’s 24 million forested acres are in urgent need of treatment, at a potential cost of $4.2 billion.
The vast majority of wildfires are caused by human activity. To minimize the risk of sparking a fire, authorities urge visitors to national forests and other public lands to follow local fire restrictions, ensure that vehicles are properly maintained and trailer chains are secured, and avoid driving or parking on dry grass.
In 2017, the State Forest Service reported that more than 2.9 million Coloradans lived in the “wildland-urban interface” — areas at risk of being impacted by wildfires. Fire safety experts urge residents of such zones to familiarize themselves with the “Ready, Set, Go” system of precautions.
The Pagosa Daily Post welcomes submissions, photos, letters and videos from people who love Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Call 970-903-2673 or email pagosadailypost@gmail.com