December 30, 2021
Hurricane-force winds whipped fires throughout drought-parched meadows and into rural communities.
On December 30, 2021, high winds roared out of the west and down the front slope of the Rocky Mountains. Those winds whipped up intense yard and brush fires and blew them east down a small valley and roadway towards the towns of Superior and Louisville.
Unlike a number of the megafires of recent years– which usually take place in forests and wildlands– the Marshall fire rapidly took a trip into largely inhabited areas and transitioned from a wildfire to an urban blaze.
Those winds whipped up extreme turf and brush fires and blew them east down a little valley and road towards the towns of Superior and Louisville. The fire likewise generated its own weather: the rising heat produced a low-pressure area that drew surface winds toward the fire from all instructions.
High winds and wildfires are not uncommon on the Front Range, however a December wildfire is; the typical fire season lasts from May to September. The warm, dry spell followed an unusually damp spring, which reduced wildfires through the summer season but fueled the development of plants that dried out and offered sufficient tinder for the December fire.
Tens of countless locals were left as flames were blown down streets and through cul-de-sacs. The fire was carried by what environment scientist and Boulder resident Daniel Swain called “an ash storm.” Blown by hurricane-force winds, the cinders leapt from home to home, burning lots of from the within out, while torching trees, firing up business buildings, and jumping a highway.
This natural-color image was gotten simply a few hours after the fire began on December 30 by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASAs Aqua satellite. The smoke plume, which was likewise visible on radar, extended about 60 miles (100 kilometers) over Colorados eastern plains at the time. The fire likewise created its own weather: the rising heat produced a low-pressure location that drew surface area winds towards the fire from all instructions.
The next day brought much-needed wetness, as a cold front moved in and dropped more than 10 inches of snow– dampening the fire but also making complex the response. As of January 2, 2022, almost 75 percent of the boundary of the 6,200– acre fire was contained.
High winds and wildfires are not uncommon on the Front Range, however a December wildfire is; the regular fire season lasts from May to September. The warm, dry spell followed an abnormally damp spring, which minimized wildfires through the summertime however fueled the development of vegetation that dried out and offered adequate tinder for the December fire.
At the time of the fire, the eastern part of Boulder County remained in extreme dry spell. Neighboring Denver, which generally has 30 inches of snow by this time of year, did not record its very first winter snowfall till December 10, the current on record.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Joshua Stevens, using MODIS information from NASA EOSDIS LANCE and GIBS/Worldview.
By Sara E. Pratt, NASA Earth Observatory
January 3, 2022
