In the waning days of 2021, a grass fire broke out in Boulder County, Colorado. Fueled by extreme drought and high winds, the fire swept through the communities of Superior and Louisville. Within hours, it had destroyed more than a thousand structures — making the Marshall fire the most destructive in the state’s history.
The December fire was an extraordinary event, but perhaps a preview of the new normal under the conditions caused by climate change. Late last month, another fire forced the evacuation of 18,000 residents in and around Boulder. Fortunate winds saved the city from catastrophic damage, but the near-miss — and the timing well outside of the region’s traditional fire season — was a warning sign of what’s to come.
“We've already experienced impacts (from climate change), but nowhere near the amount that we're likely to experience in the coming decades,” said Aaron Brockett, Boulder’s mayor. “We have a lot of work to do to make our community more resilient.”
