Climate Change Hits Colorado With Wildfires, Drought, Record Heat

"Climate change hit home in Colorado this week, exacerbating multiple environmental calamities: wildfires burning across 135,423 acres, stream flows shrinking to where state officials urged limits on fishing, drought wilting crops, and record temperatures baking heat-absorbing cities.

This is what scientists, for decades, have been warning would happen.

Gov. Jared Polis on Tuesday lamented “the hot and dry conditions” and called smoke impacts from the state’s four major wildfires “profound,” noting “poor air quality often can cause COVID-type symptoms.” He banned campfires and fireworks statewide for a month.

“The hot, dry weather is making fire behavior extreme, and the rapid spread is already taxing our resources to fight fires,” the governor said at an afternoon news conference. “We need to do everything we can to stop fires from starting in the first place.”"

Bruce Finley reports for the Denver Post August 19, 2020.

Source: Denver Post, 08/20/2020