Eric Garcia Simons Dec 2, 2013

2012 was known as one of the worst fire seasons ever recorded. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the western fires including; California, Idaho, Oregon, Utah and Colorado had consumed more than 8.6 million acres of land. This is roughly about the size of Maryland. My paper is going to focus mainly on the fires that engulfed Colorado. There were more than 4,167 fires in 2012 including damages exceeding $538 million dollars. I will be focusing on one major fire that devastated Colorado and its population. The first one is the High Park fire. The fire started in the most north part of Colorado at the border of Colorado and Wyoming called Larimer County. With thousands of evacuations and millions of dollars in damage, The High Park fire is infamous for its destruction, ranked #2 of Colorados worst fires. The fire burned more than 87,284 acres, killing one person and destroying around 259 homes.

(denverpost.com) The fire was started by lighting on private property on Saturday June 9, 2012. It quickly began consuming land and everything in its path including homes. Unfavorable conditions

Eric Garcia Simons Dec 2, 2013

including high winds and dry weather caused two spot fires which added another 10 homes and 15.6 square miles to the charred list. The main fuel source for the fire came from timber, grass and brush. Extremely dry weather made this a very difficult fire to contain, the fire began in June and it wasnt fully contained until July 1, 2012. The fire wasnt the only thing causing damage. Highway 14 was closed due to mudslides and falling trees, along with a recreation center that was completely destroyed by a mudslide. Thousands Coloradoans were in a state of disbelief and shock when they were rushed out of their houses fleeing from a burning inferno. Many had questions, like how did it happen and why was it so bad? There are several different underlying factors, but a recent study done by the Center of Climate Control suggests global warming as a major variable in this recent fiery disaster. The National Research Council reports that for every extra degree Celsius or 1.8 degree Fahrenheit, the size of an area burned could quadruple. This ongoing study of 42 years suggests that the number fires and the magnitude of them have increased substantially due the heating of our earth.

(climatecentral.org)

Eric Garcia Simons Dec 2, 2013

On average, wildfires burn twice as much land area each year as they did 40 years ago. That means with consistent global warming our fires will continually be worse and worse, burning even more land and endangering millions of people. The study also shows a direct correlation between rising spring and summer temperatures and the increased size of wildfires and their frequency. The way this works is like the greenhouse effect, the earth is warming up because of extra gasses like carbon dioxide that are being trapped inside the earths ozone. The more gasses eventually begin to pile up and layer, making our ozone thicker. The suns rays are staying in the earth longer than they normally would, causing a worldwide heat up. This worldwide heating has been in the process for hundreds of years now. Now we are facing the consequences. Our lands are becoming drier and drought is becoming far too common. These conditions attract fire and any random spark could light up a whole forest.

(climatecentral.org)

Eric Garcia Simons Dec 2, 2013

Analysis There wasnt much a forecast or prediction for this fire. The thing with naturally started fires is, there isnt much you can do about it. Once the fire starts, firefighters and civilians can only do so much. They can try to contain it but fires like this spread very rapidly and consume a vast amount of land in a short amount of time. Once authorities were aware of the fire evacuations were made a priority. This is why there was only one causality in the High Park fire.

(deverpost.com) The people of Larimer County have had fires before, but none of this magnitude. They understand that the land could be prone to some fires but the High Park fire wasnt in mind. The risk that they took living in this county is a reasonable one. With a lot of timber, grass and brush theres always a chance for something like this to happen. Fortunately some precautions were made prior to this event and evacuations worked on cue.

Eric Garcia Simons Dec 2, 2013

After the fire was contained fire crews went into the affected area and preformed rehab. This includes erosion control and hazard tree removal along trails and roads. Along with something called mulching. Mulching helps stabilize burned hills and reduce erosion in these areas. Other proposed work will continue as conditions allow, including noxious weed monitoring and treatment, additional erosion control and hazardous tree removal along roads and trails, trail stabilization, protection of archeological sites, and road stabilization. There is probability that a fire of this magnitude could happen again in High Park but these precautions are being put in place. New mitigation and evacuation plans were sent to the people of Larimer County and the people have a new sense of risk for their homes. After a fire the land is a lot more fertile and new vegetation will be able to grow. Its part of a cycle in nature. The thing that makes it a disaster is the fact that people live in this area, otherwise its just natural. Fires are a natural occurrence and are necessary for the well being of the land. The reason why this fire was so damaging was because humans were in a part of nature that doesnt really belong to us. So when Mother Nature decides to take its course, the people of Larimer County didnt have much of a choice but to flee. Thankfully this wasnt a man-made fire. But over working the land and global warming are both man-made causes that could have been substantial in the High Park fire. As we begin to see that our actions are affecting us in one way or another this fire is a reminder that Mother Nature is still in control and Mother Nature will react to how we treat it. Global warming will become a major catastrophe if it is not dealt with in the next decade. Not only will fires be bigger and more vicious, but a lot of things will occur and not necessarily in the favor for humans. Human beings

Eric Garcia Simons Dec 2, 2013

must be more conscious of the earth and how our actions will eventually effect more than just ourselves. We are all a part of a bigger picture that depends on each other, like a web.

Citations Central, C. (9, 18 2012). The age of western wildfire. Retrieved from http://www.climatecentral.org/ Mitchell, K. (6, 23 2012). Colorado's high park fire. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/ High park fire. (9, 12 2012). Retrieved from http://www.inciweb.org/ McGhee, T. (1, 19 2013). 4,167 colorado wildfires. Retrieved from http://www.denverpost.com/