Fanned by hurricane-force winds and fueled by tinder-dry vegetation, raging wildfires raced across Boulder County, northwest of Denver, yesterday afternoon. Currently believed to have been ignited by downed power lines, the fires destroyed hundreds of homes and businesses.
While wildfires are common in the foothills and on grasslands of the High Plains, such devastation has never before occurred in the suburbs of Metro Denver. Unfortunately, a prolonged drought and above normal temperatures this fall and early winter, set the stage for this disaster. There is no doubt that global warming is playing a major role and such tragedies will likely recur across the Western U.S. where large, sprawling cities occupy arid or semiarid terrain.
Ironically, this firestorm developed the day before a significant snowfall is expected, the first since last spring. Recent Pacific storms have replenished the mountain snowpack but the Front Range urban corridor desperately needs precipitation. Hopefully, we will enter the New Year with a fresh blanket of snow.
