暗黑爆料 brief
Unseasonable wildfires fueled by high winds over dry ground resulted in two deaths in the Mountain West this week.
In Colorado, the near Estes Park began early Tuesday when high winds blew a tree onto a powerline, causing it to arc. It spread quickly across steep terrain, thanks to those same strong winds mixed with unusually dry conditions. That night, a single-engine air tanker crashed near the fire, , who was identified Wednesday as Marc Thor Olson.
In Wyoming, a wildfire burning near Clark, in Park County, claimed the life of volunteer firefighter Cindy Ruth on Monday, as the Cody Enterprise . That fire was also caused when trees got blown into a power line and is now 100 percent contained.
Jerry Parker is the Park County's fire warden. He said the lack of moisture this year makes fires this late in November not at all unusual.
"We used to have a fire season," he said. "And that would usually end towards the end of September, 1st of October. But here recently, in the last few years, fire season seems to be going year-round."
Scientists say warmer fall temperatures and less precipitation are allowing wildfires to burn deeper into fall.
"The fires now are tragic, but they fit the pattern that has significantly increased our fire risk," said Bryan Shuman, a professor at the University of Wyoming who . "The combination is terrible and favorable to fire."
, almost all of the Mountain West remains in varying degrees of drought.
Meanwhile, have been lifted for the Rosebud Fire in Stillwater County, Mont. It broke out late Monday night, and according to the Stillwater Sheriff鈥檚 Office, was 15% contained Wednesday afternoon.
This story was produced by the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, the O'Connor Center for the Rocky Mountain West in Montana, KUNC in Colorado, KUNM in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West 暗黑爆料 Bureau is provided in part by the .
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