Wildland Fire Update
Latest satellite images,
showing heat signatures and smoke plumes from fires burning in Colorado and
New Mexico:
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Source: NASA Earthobservatory, 12 June 2002
Operational
Significant Event Imagery (OSEI)
The following significant events were identified by Satellite Analysis
Branch meteorologists and reviewed by the OSEI support team of the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA):
Colorado wildfire spreads out of control
NESDIS/OSEI NOAA-14 POES AVHRR LAC satellite images,
LEFT: Heat signatures (red) and smoke plumes (light blue haze) are visible from fires burning in Colorado and New Mexico. The Hayman Fire has burned 86,925 acres in Pike National Forest, CO and was 5% contained. Smoke is visible drifting over Nebraska and Kansas. Several camps, ranches, recreation areas, and towns are threatened and a mandatory evacuation is in place for 6,000 residences. The Coal Seam Fire has charred 10,600 acres four miles west of Glenwood Springs, CO and was 5% contained. The Missionary Ridge Fire has scorched 8,903 acres ten miles north of Durango, CO in San Juan National Forest and was 5% contained. The Trinidad Complex Fire has burned 30,850 acres and was 75% contained. This information is from the National Interagency Fire Center Incident Management Situation Report from 06/12/2002.
CENTRE: A heat signature (red) and smoke plume (light blue haze) are visible from a fire burning in Utah. The Sanford Fire has burned 53,000 acres in Dixie National Forest and was 15% contained. This information is from the National Interagency Fire Center Incident Management Situation Report from 06/12/2002.
RIGHT: A heat signature (red) and smoke plume (light blue haze) are visible from a fire burning in Wyoming. The Hensel Fire has burned 350 acres in Medicine Bow National Forest and was 0% contained. This information is from the National Interagency Fire Center Incident Management Situation Report from 06/12/2002.
(Source: OSEI/NOAA)
DENVER - Firefighters battled against Colorado's biggest wildfire yesterday, hoping to turn the tide against a fearsome blaze that has destroyed 21 structures, forced thousands to evacuate and sent up a smoke plume visible from space.
"It's close to 90,000 acres (36,000 hectares) and counting. It's wind driven," US Forest Department spokeswoman Trish Aspland said, referring to the Hayman fire, about 55 miles (89 km) southwest of Denver.
The fire, which began on Saturday and raced across Colorado's drought-stricken landscape, has now become the largest wildfire in state history, burning up 85,000 acres (34,000 hectares) by late Tuesday. It was thought to have been started by an illegal campfire.
The fire is so big and so intense that a second elite fire command was set up, an unusual step.
So far 21 structures have been destroyed, 3,000 structures face a threat, 2,500 homes have been evacuated and as many as 40,000 residents could be asked to leave within the next couple of days if the fire stays out of control, Aspland said.
No new evacuation orders were in place by early Wednesday.
"The Hayman fire is the No. 1 fire in the nation," Federal Emergency Management Agency Director Joe Allbaugh said Wednesday morning. "You know this is a serious fire when astronauts in the space shuttle are watching this," he said.
$20 MILLION BILL
Like much of the US West, semi-arid Colorado has been under a serious
drought, leaving trees bone dry and vulnerable when winds whip up.
So far 140,000 acres (56,000 hectares) have burned statewide and 65 structures
have been destroyed. The federal government is picking up 75 percent of the
cost of fighting the fires, which has come to $20 million for the Hayman fire
alone.
The Hayman fire was moving southwest to west, switching away from Denver, but
toward new terrain full of dry and diseased trees, Aspland said.
She said residents in forest areas must do a better job of clearing trees
around their houses. "They need to learn to thin out and be smart,"
she said. "They want those pretty trees, but the forest is ripe for a
fire."
Local television has been broadcasting information on what residents need to
do; have current identity cards, insurance and other business records, credit
cards and cash.
Householders have been going through the heartbreaking effort of figuring out
what to take with them.
Colorado Gov. Bill Owens has ordered a ban on outdoor fires and firecrackers
and US Attorney for Colorado John Suthers said his office would seek prison
sentences for people who violate fire bans on federal lands.
Flames shot up in the air from treetops and embers flew as big white plumes of
smoke hung over a scenic area of Pike National Forest that normally is teeming
with visitors camping and sightseeing. Now the forest has been closed to the
public.
The blaze, which has marked a frighteningly early start to the US summer fire
season, was the largest in the state's history, the governor has said.
In a small piece of good news, things were looking better in the western part
of Colorado where the Coal Seam fire in West Glenwood Springs has consumed
10,500 acres (4,200 hectares). Most residents were allowed back into their
homes and businesses were re-opening in the town which is heavily dependent on
tourism.
Source: Planet Ark
For more information on the recent fire situation see: Recent Media Highlights on Fire, Policies, and Politics , especially several articles referring to the situation in Colorado.