More than 10,000 calls warning residents to flee failed when the Waldo Canyon fire exploded near Colorado Springs in 2012. Thousands of people were left without warnings as flames destroyed 347 homes and killed two people. That same year, evacuation alerts were sent to the wrong phone numbers during the Lower North Fork fire — […]
waldo canyon fire
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, Environment, News, Wildfire
Data may be Colorado’s best bet to mitigate increasing wildfire risk on the Front Range
DOUGLAS COUNTY — The future of climate change and suburban firefighting in Colorado is here, in a dull brown meadow at the corner of Chatridge Court and U.S. 85. They know the future will arrive on this spot, because the kind of raging grass fires near thousands of suburban homes that keep emergency planners awake at […]
Posted inWildfire
Survivors share what they’ve learned from their painful experience with Colorado wildfires
Sun staff writers Jason Blevins, Tamara Chuang, Shannon Najmabadi, Olivia Prentzel and Kevin Simpson contributed to this story. Colorado has endured some major catastrophic wildfires over the past decade. But if there’s any silver lining to all that devastation, it’s that the survivors have learned some valuable lessons about how to proceed in their aftermath. […]
Posted inClimate, Coloradans, News, Wildfire
Amid the charred ruins of Colorado wildfires, a sense of community evolves with the rebuild
About this story: Sun staff writer Kevin Simpson wrote and compiled this account with contributions from Jason Blevins, Jennifer Brown, Tamara Chuang, Shannon Najmabadi and Olivia Prentzel. Kiki Turner stood in front of the house where she grew up, now a pile of ashes in a scorched and flattened neighborhood. She could see for miles, […]
Posted inBusiness, Economy, Housing, News, Wildfire
Rebuilding after disaster takes a community — and a streamlined process — say Coloradans who lost homes in Waldo Canyon fire
Within 24 hours of the devastating Waldo Canyon fire on a hot June day in 2012, a unique recovery team began to form that included the mayor, builders, contractors, insurers, private businesses, the utility company and residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed. The nonprofit known as Colorado Springs Together worked through recovery from a […]
Posted inClimate, Environment, Health, News, Wildfire
Smoke from faraway wildfires may be worse for Coloradans than if it came from blazes in their own backyards
For long stretches of the summer the Front Range has been bathed in smoke traveling hundreds of miles from California and Oregon wildfires and it turns out that long-range smoke could be more dangerous than the fumes from homegrown forest fires. Some initial studies have shown that long-range smoke may be more toxic and since […]
Posted inBusiness, Climate, COVID, Environment, Outdoors, Water, Wildfire
“Too many uncontrollables”: From coronavirus to wildfires, Colorado’s hunting season brings a slew of uncertainties
Earl Oesterling first noticed the smoke plumes of the Cameron Peak fire near his business, Ivory & Antler Outfitters, in mid-August. He knew that signaled trouble for hunting even beyond the crowds and the drought that already beset the area. The Jackson County outfitter, located about 20 miles west of what became a massive wildfire […]
Posted inNews, Wildfire
More than 300 homes were destroyed by the East Troublesome fire
More than 300 homes were destroyed by the East Troublesome fire last month when it made an epic run across Grand County and became the second largest wildfire in Colorado’s recorded history. The news was shared Sunday evening by Grand County Brett Schroetlin, who added that an additional 100 to 200 secondary structures — including […]
Posted inSunLit, SunLit Interviews
Barbara Nickless juggled plot and backstory to create a tale inspired by an Army intelligence officer
Barbara Nickless is the Wall Street Journal and #1 Amazon Charts bestselling author of the Sydney Parnell crime novels. She is a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award and three-time winner of the Colorado Authors’ League writing award. She also teaches creative writing to veterans at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She […]