Colorado officials hold summit to get public feedback on wildfire mitigation and recovery skyhinews.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from skyhinews.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Climate change ravaged the West last year and 2021 could be worse
‘We’ve got a pretty deep hole that 2020 has dug for us.’
(Francisco Kjolseth | Tribune file photo) This Jan. 6, 2021, file photo shows limited snowfall in Big Cottonwood Canyon where south facing slopes showed bare spots. Already in the grip of a stubborn drought, Utah, along with the entire Intermountain West, is facing what looks to be another bleak water year as climate change settles into the region.
By Judy Fahys | Updated: 7:34 p.m.
If there were any doubts that the climate is changing in the Colorado River Basin, 2020 went a long way toward dispelling them, thanks to yet another year of extreme weather.
Feb 1, 2021
DENVER (AP) Grand Lake Fire Marshal Dan Mayer never thought the East Troublesome Fire would make it to town.
On the morning of Oct. 21, 2020, the fire was still about 20 miles (32 kilometers) away from the vacation spot on the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. The perimeter had crept east at a predictable pace for days. In the worst case, Mayer imagined it would lose momentum against Lake Granby, a large reservoir in the area.
Then the winds picked up.
“You had your expectations,” he said. “Then, when you saw it coming, it got scary.”
Mayer would soon witness a blow-up, a moment when a fire expands with dangerous force and ferocity. His sense of surprise wasn’t unique, either. The rapid growth of the East Troublesome Fire shocked firefighters and scientists, redefining how quickly Colorado wildfires can grow in an era of rapid climate change.
If there were any doubts that the climate is changing in the Colorado River Basin, 2020 went a long way toward dispelling them, thanks to yet another year of extreme weather.
Unprecedented wildfires, deadly heatwaves, withering drought the many indicators of the climate mayhem that scientists have been warning about for years ravaged the landscape, claiming dozens of lives and causing billions of dollars in damage.
Colorado endured an unprecedented wildfire season. And so did California, in some cases burning where the wounds were still fresh from the epic fires of 2018. Utah experienced its driest year ever, and persistent high temperatures killed more people in Arizona than ever before. Monsoon rains that typically bring relief throughout the region were a no-show for the second summer in a row and now are being called the “non-soon.”
Climate Change Ravaged the West With Heat and Drought Last Year; Many Fear 2021 Will Be Worse insideclimatenews.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from insideclimatenews.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.