Troy Hooper in Real Aspen: The prescribed burn that roared out of control around Conifer, claiming the lives of three nearby residents and scaring hundreds of others is just the beginning of what could be a frighteningly long fire season in Colorado.About 98 percent of the state is experiencing varying levels of drought, Colorado State University climatologists confirmed this week, noting the Arkansas and Rio Grande river basins are especially dry, as are areas in the central and northwestern mountains due to an unusually lean snowpack.
...Law enforcement agencies are investigating the Colorado State Forest Service's handling of the prescribed burn that officials admit reignited unexpectedly and sparked the deadly Lower North Fork blaze in Jefferson County. Gov. John Hickenlooper has also convened a four-person review board led by Bill Bass, a 35-year veteran of the U.S. Forest Service, to examine details of the tragedy.
“Wildfire season usually starts much later in the year in Colorado, and this could very well turn out to be one of the worst,” U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colorado, said in a prepared statement issued after he toured the fire wreckage Friday. “The dry and gusty conditions that have fueled this fire and others that have broken out around the state are warning signs that it may be a very long firefighting season."...
A ground crew at the 2008 West Metro fire in Colorado, shot by FEMA
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