Official Thread for all 2012 Colorado Fire Season Topics (Pueblo, Grand Junction: utilities, bus)

[suzco]

Originally Posted by DOUBLE H

Thankfully it's been somewhat quiet the last couple weeks on this subject. A new one to report here.

News 11 Grand Junction has just reported a fire in Poudre Canyon northwest of Fort Collins. At this time it is about 100 acres.

Yeah, unfortunately
Hewlett Fire Burning West of Fort Collins

A wildfire is burning northwest of Fort Collins this afternoon.
Updated 5:20 p.m.
The U.S. Forest Service has upgraded the size of the Hewlett fire to 150 acres. According to their incident command page, the blaze is located less than one mile from Poudre Park. Residents from mile marker 110 - 115 a quarter mile north and south of Hwy 14 will be notified of the fire and should be prepared to evacuate if needed.

[CosmicWizard]

Nationwide, we've been lucky........so far. The total acreage burnt to date this year is well below what it was a year ago. But that can change in a New York minute!

National Climatic Data Center

State of the Climate Wildfires
April 2012 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

During April, wildfire activity across the U.S. was below average, although warm and dry conditions occurred across a large portion of the country. The 191,062 acres which burned in April was the fifth least in the period of record, and the 7,506 fires was also the fifth least.

[DOUBLE H]

I was watching Fox 31 news a bit ago and they have reported that the fire has grown to over 600 acres with 5% containment. And also added that the fire is believed to be human caused.

[jazzlover]

Another Red Flag Warning in western Colorado for tomorrow (Friday). I don't think that many people, especially those ensconced in the metro areas, have a clue about how dire the fire conditions are getting to be in many mountain areas of Colorado, particularly in the southern half of the state. The people I know in Emergency Preparedness have gone beyond mere concern to a sense of resignation that major fires are going to occur in Colorado this summer--the only question is where, when, how many, and how big.

As an aside, the condition of streamflows are the worst that I've seen in 35 years, and likely will eclipse the disastrous 1977 water year in severity. I have personal knowledge that the conditions in the San Luis Valley, as an example, are some of the worst in living memory.

[DOUBLE H]

On today's 12 o'clock news, the CBS affiliate (KREX) here in Grand Junction has advised for seniors, children, and people with respiratory problems in the Ft. Collins area to stay inside for the time being.

Latest numbers are now at just over 1000 acres burned with 5% containment.

[jazzlover]

Consider this: Climatically, the area where the fire is burning northwest of Fort Collins should be in its wettest 2 months of the year. May and June are typically some of the wettest months on the northern Front Range. Instead, the grass is crunchy brown--ready to burn. Up in that area conditions are drier right now than they typically are in late August--which is the normal dry period in northern Colorado.

Where the fire is burning right now is mostly threatening a few houses that probably were built where they should not have been, but this fire also has the potential of burning significantly into the Cache La Poudre watershed--now that could cause some pretty serious problems far beyond the fire area.

Cook up some major fires in a few watersheds critical to Front Range water supplies (South Platte, Blue River, Upper Arkansas, etc.) and those blissfully uncaring and ignorant Front Range metro residents might get a real unpleasant wake up call about how what happens far away from them can mess with their happy lives.

[suzco]

The Hewlett Fire is now burning more than 5000 acres.
About 80 homes ordered to evacuate in the Hewlett Fire near Fort Collins

Almost 400 firefighters are battling the 5,090-acre blaze, according to the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.

Additional support is expected to join crews currently battling the blaze that began Monday afternoon, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The fire is believed to be human-caused and remains under investigation.

The fire is burning brush, open timber and grass in Roosevelt National Forest. . .

[DOUBLE H]

11 News Grand Junction is now reporting:

7600 acres burned
400 plus firefighters involved
5% containment

I believe a red flag advisory is posted for pretty much the whole state. And today's forecast for the Fort Collins area calls for dry and windy conditions with isolated thunderstorms and winds gusting to over 40 miles per hour.

[DOUBLE H]

In the Nevada forum there was a thread started yesterday commenting on the nasty storm front and 60-70 mph winds that went through there yesterday. This system just went through Grand Junction an hour and a half ago.

[DOUBLE H]

This morning CNN News reported;

7700 acres burned
500 firefighters involved
30% containment

We're getting a little break with the calmer winds and higher humidity.