3.. 2.. 1.. Claim: Colorado Wildfires Because Climate Change
8 hours ago
Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Climate ambulance chasers are trying to bag another photogenic wildfire for their cause. But Colorado legislated a moratorium on prescribed burns in 2012, following a burn fail which ended in three fatalities.
How climate change primed Colorado for a rare December wildfire
The ground, typically moist from snow this time of year, was dry and flammable as a result of unusually warm temperatures and a lack of precipitation in recent months, experts said.
Jan. 1, 2022, 7:30 PM AEST By Elizabeth Chuck
The rare December blaze that tore through Boulder County, Colorado, at frightening speed this week may not be that unusual in the future, wildfire experts are warning, as climate change sets the stage for more.
Wildfires do not historically happen during the winter, particularly in areas like Boulder County, where the ground is normally moist from snow.
But in recent months, Colorado has experienced a severe drought. From July 1 through Dec. 29, 2021, Denver recorded its lowest amount of precipitation by over an inch, with snowfall at record low levels, too. Meanwhile, Boulder, which typically sees about 30 inches of snow between September and December, received just one inch in that period leading up to the day of the fire.
Combine that with an unseasonably warm fall, and the ground had significantly less moisture in it than it normally would — creating perfect conditions for a fire to flourish.
“Everything is kind of crispy,” said Keith Musselman, a snow hydrologist and assistant research professor at the University of Colorado Boulder. “In addition to the extreme drought, just one- or two-degree warmer days can really dry out the landscape quite a bit more, so everything is that much drier and flammable.”
Officials say wind gusts of up to 105 mph fanned the flames, rapidly destroying between 500 and 1,000 homes and giving residents barely any time to evacuate.
…https://wattsupwiththat.com/2022/01/02/3-2-1-claim-colorado-wildfires-because-climate-change/
