Record CO Blazes Reflect A Fire Season That's Grown 78 Days Longer In The West Since 1970s

[hatrack]

EDIT

Across the American west, fire seasons are now 78 days longer than they were in the 1970s, according to the US Department of Agriculture, which spends more than half its budget fighting wildfires. The long season is characteristic of what scientists expect from climate change, the overarching force that is driving more severe wildfires in the region. And its implications extend beyond fires.

Warmer and longer summers lead to algal blooms in lakes and rivers and harm cold-water-loving fish such as trout and salmon. Without cold days, fruit doesn’t set on trees and disease-carrying mosquitoes thrive. Crucially for Western forests, hard freezes kill larvae before they develop into mature bark beetles. Since 1996, swarms of beetles have descended on more than 4m acres of western forests, leaving behind grey mountain slopes of standing dead timber that make fine fuel for fires. However, beetle plagues are likely not to blame for this year’s devastation.

“What’s important is where these fires are burning: forests at high elevation that very rarely get hot and dry enough to burn,” said Tania Schoennagel, an ecologist at the University of Colorado who studies forest impacts including wildfires and beetle outbreaks. The fires this year have ravaged the high flanks of the Continental Divide, burning some areas that may not have seen a fire like this since 1782. When these forests, which rarely burn, do light up, “they burn like hell”, Schoennagel said.

Another factor contributing to the scale of the disaster this year is wind. During its peak, the Cameron Peak fire engulfed 30,000 acres a day. The East Troublesome fire consumed 100,000 acres in an evening. Lower on the foothills just north of Boulder, the Calwood fire exploded to more than 7,000 acres over the course of an afternoon. In each case, 50-mile-an-hour gusts wailed through the treetops, fanning flames like a blast furnace and urging the inferno on. “The weather drives the fire and the fire changes the atmosphere that in turn feeds back on the fire,” said Janice Coen, an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/30/colorado-fires-cameron-peak-east-troublesome

[mountain grammy]

1. Our October fire jumped the Continental Divide

grew from 20,000 acres to nearly 200,000 in a day. Did I mention it's OCTOBER! After a good snowstorm and temps in the teens, there are still hot spots, at 9000 ft. and above.