It’s not only skiers and snowboarders who have been lamenting the lack of the white stuff in Colorado’s winter resorts in recent months. With the onset of spring well underway, melt water is extremely scarce and as a result wild fire professionals are fearing the worst as prospects of an early fire season loom large.

Already, one out of control blaze has claimed three lives and destroyed homes in the drought-stricken state. An abundance of highly combustible fuel created by prolonged dry spells, combined with strong gusty winds is providing perfect conditions for wildfires. Colorado firefighters are bracing themselves for a long and hectic season.

Ken Neubecker, director of the Western Rivers Institute said “It’s worse right now in the Roaring Fork Valley than it was in 2002 and that was a pretty years for fires.” March was one of the warmest and driest on record with some regions of the state having no measurable precipitation during the month. Read More...

Tags: wildfire, drought, climate change, Colorado, Western Rivers Institute

Compared to the vast forest and wildland fires experienced in many larger countries, the problems faced in the UK must seem to many like a drop in the ocean. But, with a dense population and highly urban infrastructure, large moorland and forest fires can rapidly encroach on areas where people and industry are put in serious danger.

With unseasonably high spring temperatures hitting Britain’s headlines lately, the number of out-of-control fires has reached alarming levels.

Somewhat surprisingly, it is estimated that the UK experiences almost 80,000 wildfires per year. With a population exceeding 60 million, and a land mass under 95,000 square miles it’s easy to see how wildfires pose such a serious threat to lives and commercial interests.

One of the most dramatic events to occur during the March 2012 heatwave was a large hillside inferno that destroyed hundreds of acres of Scottish moorland. What makes this particular blaze so interesting is that it was actually photographed from space. As temperatures soared at ground level, a NASA satellite tracked the plumes of smoke from the fire from 438 miles above a sweltering Britain. Read More...

Tags: wildfire, NASA satellite, UK Met office

With so much media coverage about the record-breaking severity of natural disasters that occurred in 2011, it’s little wonder that many people are keeping a wary eye on the outlook for the year ahead.

Unseasonably dry and warm conditions in many areas have already caused serious concerns for those living and working in wildfire prone regions. Homes, commercial properties, endangered habitats and even human lives are at risk from uncontrolled blazes and government agencies, academic institutions and private businesses are all leading the way in developing sophisticated ways to predict and manage wildland fires.

To help further protect civilians and professionals alike, a new mapping and weather platform has been developed by Californian start-up FireWhat.

Combining data from Google Maps, a NASA satellite and local weather information, this service illustrates the locations and conditions of current neighborhood fires. Read More...

Tags: QD3, FireWhat, iPhone, Apps, Portable RAWS, fire weather monitoring, wildfire

Here’s a training video used by NIFC covering fire weather forecasting. In it, Rick Ochoa explains how to interpret fire weather forecasts, developed using data from the US fire weather network, and which are used by fire crews in planning prescribed burns and fighting wildfires. Read More...

Tags: NIFC, RAWS, wildfire prediction, Video

Researchers in Spain have identified the probable cause in an increase and severity of forest fires occurring in the country.

And for once it seems that fingers aren’t pointing solely at the effects of climate change, but at shifts in socioeconomics.

Over the last forty years Spain has seen a significant exodus from rural communities with many people relocating to the larger cities, and the tourist boomtowns on the Mediterranean coast. Consequent changes in land use, previously managed for agricultural purposes, created an incendiary landscape invaded by fast growing and flammable vegetation, resulting in an increase in more destructive and more frequent wildfires. Read More...

Tags: Land management, Spain, economics, wildfire prediction, wildfire