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September 14, 2015
Colorado Wildfires
Driving through the scorched mountains of Colorado makes me wonder when they burned and why. I have a sort of sketchy recollection of some of the big fires that Jonathan, Gretchen, and I have been driving through recently.
This post does a pretty good job of showing the fires we drove though, to wit:
May 18, 1996 - The Buffalo Creek Fire was started by a bunch of idiots on a field trip/camping trip with a teacher that did a very poor job of supervising his students. They were smoking pot, started a campfire, and managed to burn down 12,000 acres, nearly destroying the town of Buffalo Creek.
June 12, 2000 - Hi Meadow Fire, Bailey area - 10,800 acres; 51 structures. Started by a jackass that discarded a cigarette.
June 8, 2002 - Hayman Fire: Hayman, Colorado
This fire was started by a female fireman/bored housewife that didn't feel like going out of state to fight forest fires, so she decided to start one closer to home. This daft broad managed to start the largest and most devastating wildfire in Colorado's recorded history. The fire burned area more than 138,000 acres. In total, 600 structures were lost (133 residences, one commercial building, and 466 outbuildings), causing more than $42 million in housing losses. A total of 5,340 people were forced to evacuate; at one time, 14,000 were told to stand by for evacuation.
March 27, 2012 - Lower North Fork Fire: Near Foxton, CO.
This fire burned up 4,140 acres and was started by - are you ready for this - the fire department. It was a controlled burn that got out of control. Well done, morons. In March, the 4,140 acre fire took the lives of three residents and destroyed 23 homes, one mile east of Foxton, Colorado. The Lower North Fork fire started on Monday, March 26. Preliminary reports indicate that the fire was caused by embers from a prescribed fire.
Posted by Rob Kiser on September 14, 2015 at 10:35 PM
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