Firefighting in Colorado’s mountains is tough. Really tough. Temperatures, precipitation, and wind can change in minutes. And this is in addition to rough, often steep terrain and high elevation. (Remember, Denver is at 5,280 feet, so all the fires are higher than that.) Colorado’s biggest wildfire in history, the Cameron Peak fire, is still burning in northern Colorado, just north and east of Rocky Mountain National Park. Conditions there have often looked like this:
This video gives a quick look into the types of wind conditions us and other firefighters on Cameron Peak experienced and have been experiencing over the duration of the #cameronpeakfire #cofire pic.twitter.com/8WDfE1reTc
— Colorado Division of Fire Prevention & Control (@COStateFire) October 19, 2020
Is it any wonder the fire has been raging for two months? And at the moment it’s only one of 8 fires in Colorado.
Keep these brave, tireless men and women in your thoughts.
OMG. There just aren’t words good enough to use for these people.
I’ve always felt that way about firefighters, but what they’re up against in the mountains is just insane. And they keep at it, day after day after day …
We’ve seen that here too. Sometimes the firefighters just give up trying to stop the fire and work to evacuate everyone in the path of the flames.
Haven’t heard of that happening here, but obviously if a choice must be made … no question. Our fires have been in less densely populated areas than those in Calif.
Fires are wicked as we know only too well in Calif. Working at higher elevations, winds whipping through passes would surely be challenging.
I hope all your friends and loved ones are okay. The fires out there have been horrible. It seems like the entire state is on fire. And in heavily populated areas, too. Must be incredibly difficult for the firefighters.