A video posted to YouTube by professional trainers based in Colorado Springs shows the apparent early stages of the Waldo Canyon Fire on Saturday, June 23. Following the timeline in the video, it clearly shows the fire starting in the early afternoon and quickly becoming an inferno. Read more about the harrowing escape and watch the video on Examiner.com
Summer is barely a week old and yet hundreds of thousands of acres in the West have burned causing tens of millions of dollars in damage. As Colorado and New Mexico cope with record-setting disasters, many are asking questions about the lack of a competent air tanker fleet after a decade of decline. Read more on Examiner.com about why President Barack Obama may face tough questions when he comes to Colorado tomorrow.
Tuesday afternoon the Waldo Canyon Fire west of Colorado Springs exploded with extraordinary ferocity. The blaze moved toward the Air Force Academy prompting the base to evacuate some personnel.
The scene that evening was an eerie one as the sky was darkened by the smoke and the setting sun provided an orange cast. Click here to view a slideshow on Examiner.com of some amazing photos from the academy as the flames encroached.
The only Department of Defense wildfire fighting team is being deployed to aid in the battle against wildfires ravaging Colorado. The hot shot crew from Vandenberg Air Force Base is expected to be on the lines of the Waldo Canyon Fire near the Air Force Academy. Read the rest of this story on Examiner.com and check out the amazing slideshow of the fire approaching the academy.
With wildfires raging across much of the Colorado high country, nearly half of all available resources in the nation have been deployed to our state. Today the City of Thornton said it would be lending a hand in the battle against these deadly and damaging fires.
The Thornton Fire Department will be joining the multijurisdictional effort and deploying a crew and fire engine to assist with the Flagstaff Fire burning west of Boulder. The blaze started late Tuesday afternoon and forced the evacuation of more than two dozen homes.
While the fire is not the largest or most critical one in the state, by Thornton sending a crew it helps to free up other resources to battle other blazes like the Waldo Canyon Fire near Colorado Springs.
ThorntonWeather.com offers our support for the brave men and women who put their lives on the line to protect us and others across the state. We pray for your safety and success as we deal with this horrible summer of fire.
Update, 2:15pm, from the City of Thornton: “Fire fighters from the Thornton Fire Department mobilized to assist with the Flagstaff Fire in Boulder on June 26. A “Strike Team” from Thornton went to Boulder to provide assistance with structure protection. The Thornton Fire Department remains on standby to assist with any structure protection requested by agencies fighting the fires in Colorado.”
More coverage from Examiner.com:
Just days into summer Colorado was already experiencing a devastating season of wildfires. On Tuesday the fires became an inferno forcing more than 30,000 residents across the state to evacuate ahead of the flames. Get the latest on the Waldo Canyon Fire, Flagstaff Fire and more on Examiner.com
Colorado’s deadly and destructive wildfire season continues with as many as a dozen blazes burning in recent days. Smoke from the fires has blanketed parts of the state in recent weeks and new NASA satellite imagery shows the smoke plumes from some of the blazes. Read the rest of this story and view the images on Examiner.com.
For the fourth day in a row Denver’s temperature broke the 100 degree mark and once again set records in the process. Not only did June 25, 2012 break the record high for the date, it also tied the highest temperature ever recorded in the Mile High City.
Weather record keeping began in Denver in November of 1871. In the nearly 141 years since, only twice has Denver reached 105 degrees – until today.
At 3:34pm the mercury at Denver’s official monitoring station at Denver International Airport reached 105 degrees. This tied the highest temperature ever recorded in the Mile High City which has only been seen twice before. The two previous times were on July 20, 2005 and August 8, 1878.
This of course is a record for June 25 itself as well. The previous record high temperature for June 25 was 100 degrees set in 1991.
The 105 degree reading also is the warmest temperature ever recorded in June. The old record was 104 degrees set on June 26, 1994.
And finally this makes the fourth day in a row that Denver has seen 100+ degree temperatures. Only three other times have that many or more consecutive days recorded readings above the century mark. With forecasts calling for at least one more day of 100+ degree temperatures, the streak may live on.
Thornton sets high temperature marks too
Thornton’s temperatures climbed today as well and broke the 100 degree mark for the third time this month. At 3:53pm ThorntonWeather.com recorded a high of 103° (102.9°). This is the highest temperature recorded by our site since it came online in October 2006.
Denver’s Longest Streaks of 100 Degrees or more
Related: Denver’s 100+ degree days since 1871
June 2012 is certain to go down in the history books as one of the warmest on record and June 25 will be one of the big reasons why. At 3:34pm the mercury at Denver's official…
As officially measured at Denver International Airport, the mercury in Denver today topped out at 102 degrees at 3:35pm. This easily breaks the old record for June 24th of 100 degrees set in 2007.
Here in Thornton we fell just shy of the 100 degree mark today as we topped out at 99.3 degrees at 3:55pm. This follows on 102.2 degrees on Saturday and 100.2 degrees on Friday.
This makes it the third day in a row with Denver seeing 100 degrees or warmer temperatures. Only four other times since recordkeeping began in 1878 have there been three or more 100 degree days in a row in the Mile High City.
Denver has recorded 100 degrees or warmer only 73 times including today. Weather forecasts currently call for 100+ degree temperatures for at least the first part of the week giving a chance that the current streak will continue.
