To those who live in wildfire-prone areas, the prospect of wildfires, though certainly not welcome, are expected. An odd canter emerges from an otherwise seasonally pleasant rhythm. Yet it now appears destabilized. What semblance of security snow cover once provided evaporated this past weekend as Colorado's second major fire threatened roughly 8,000 residential buildings. And perhaps most shockingly, the wildfire roared through a snowy landscape.
Beneath the iconic slabs of red sandstone — sentinels marking the boundary of the Great Plains — known as the Flatirons, the NCAR Fire ignited last Saturday in Boulder. Skirting the southern edge of the city, the wildfire tore through 190 acres of still-dormant grass on the snow-speckled foothills of the Rocky Mountains. Unusually warm weather leading into the weekend led to a great deal of moisture in the soil from snow melt. Where there was no snow cover, flames prevailed.
