Colorado fires destroyed homes

In winter, you can usually expect snow to cover the aisles or frost to settle on the windshields. Or at least, given global warming, to fogging up your glasses when you go out and having to wear oilskins. This is far from the case in Colorado, facing a historic drought and battered by strong winds for several days. Fires even broke out, devastating Boulder County, a city of 100,000 people located about fifty kilometers from Denver.

Hotels, shopping centers and more than 650 hectares of vegetation have gone up in smoke. Homes were also affected. “About 370 homes in the Sagamore subdivision were destroyed. It is possible that 210 homes were destroyed in Old Town Superior, ”Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle told a news conference.

Evacuation orders

Gusts of more than 160 km / h were observed in some places, complicating the efforts of the firefighters. “I would like to emphasize the scale and intensity of this fire and its presence in such a densely populated area, we would not be surprised if there were injuries or deaths,” the sheriff warned. Joe Pelle. According to the Colorado Sun newspaper, several people required treatment for burns, at least six of whom were hospitalized.

Thousands of residents have been ordered to evacuate, especially in Louisville, a city of 20,000 residents. “Leave Louisville or your life will be in danger”, had insisted the meteorological services. Another city targeted by a full evacuation order, Superior, 13,000 inhabitants, was covered with a cloud of dark smoke on Thursday, according to images posted on social networks.

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An effect of global warming

Like much of the American West, Colorado, an already arid state, has been struggling for several years with exceptional drought. With global warming, the intensity and frequency of drought and heatwave episodes are likely to increase further, continuing to create ideal conditions for forest or bush fires. In recent years, the American West has experienced unprecedented fires, particularly in California and Oregon.

For Daniel Swain, a meteorologist at UCLA, it is “hard to believe” that these fires take place in December, a period usually not conducive to this type of event in the region. “But take a record-breaking heat and drought fall, only two centimeters of snow so far this season, and add a storm with extreme downward gusts … and the result is extremely dangerous, very fast moving fires,” the researcher tweeted.

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