May 25, 2021
Will the 2021 fire season be as bad as 2020? Officials are already predicting another year of intense wildfires after a record setting season last year. Years like 2020 have the potential to become the standard for fire behavior.
Mike Morgan, the Director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control says, “we are having fire years, not fire seasons anymore.” Colorado’s new funding and wildfire-related bills are preparing the state with new resources for the 2021 season.
Interested in speaking to one of CU Denver’s experts about the 2021 wildfire season? Please contact Meghan Azralon at meghan.azralon@ucdenver.edu or by phone at 720-602-5706.
Here s a guide to what you need to know about wildfires in Colorado, the resources available and what s being done by the state to prevent them. > After a record-setting year for wildfires in Colorado, the communities hit hardest are just starting to rebuild. As fire survivors work through the recovery process and the landscapes we love are restored, 9NEWS is looking at how Colorado can make communities safer. We re examining the impacts of wildfire smoke on everyone s health, and how to help survivors cope with the hidden scars of last year. Colorado Wildfires: From Ashes to Action will air all month long on 9NEWS.
Photo by Ashley Low
Local, state and federal officials are preparing for what could be another troubling wildfire season in Colorado.
The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control released the state’s 2021 Wildfire Preparedness Plan earlier this month, a document that outlines the state’s wildfire outlook, firefighting resources and recommendations for improving operations in the future, among other points.
The plan begins by reflecting on the 2020 wildfire season and trying to contextualize the growing dangers of wildfires in Colorado at large. Members of the public are well aware by now that the three largest wildfires in the state’s history all unfolded last year: the 208,913-acre Cameron Peak Fire, the 193,812-acre East Troublesome Fire and the 139,007-acre Pine Gulch Fire.
Cameron Peak Fire area out of drought conditions during snowy spring
US Drought Monitor
and last updated 2021-04-22 16:23:29-04
DENVER â Colorado s snowy spring hasn t solved the state s drought issues overnight. But one positive update came down Thursday from the latest U.S. Drought Monitor: A small area in Colorado has no dry conditions, not even the less-than-drought designation of abnormally dry.
And it s not just any area of the state. It s a good chunk of Larimer County where the Cameron Peak Fire burned for months last summer and fall.
Heavy snow over the last month has helped improve conditions in the area, and across Colorado. Areas of the Front Range received up to 10 inches of snow last week and more this week.