Two Large Fires Advancing in Colorado - El Comercio de Colorado

CONTAINMENT WORK | A special team works to stop the fire caused by lightning in the Oil Springs area. (Photo / Courtesy National Interagency Fire Center)

HEAT WAVE AND DROUGHT PROLIFERATE SPREAD

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The National Interagency Fire Center has detected two large fires that are currently spreading in northwest Colorado. Neither of these fires have been contained, with a possibility of damaging some 16,000 hectares. One is located within Sylvan Lake State Park just 15 miles south of the city of Eagle, and the second in the Oil Springs area 20 miles south of Rangely.

The cause of the fire in the Sylvan Lake area is under investigation by an incident management team appointed by the state government. This fire has been active since June 20^th. Meanwhile, the Oil Springs fire was caused by a lightning strike on June 18^th, and the incident management team has been working on containing that fire since June 22^nd. Authorities have indicated that the drought and high temperatures in the area have contributed to the spread of the flames.

Addressing the Causes

“Heat waves and climate fires are more intense and sustained due to climate change. Every day without bold climate action is one more day where thousands of Hispanics in Colorado put their lives, families, jobs, homes, and businesses at risk. We need concrete progress in Congress to help us lessen the impact of climate change by expanding clean energy, as well as improving the resilience of our infrastructure in extreme weather,” said Antonieta Cádiz, spokesperson for Climate Power.

Last June, Governor Jared Polis signed law SB21-258, with bipartisan support to invest $25 million in mitigating the risk of forest fires. This law contemplates a joint effort with the US Forest Service to identify, prioritize, and finance fire mitigation projects and expand the workforce development program that will be in charge of these fire mitigation tasks. Colorado saw the three largest wildfires in history in 2020.

Hispanics Affected

There are more than 2.9 million Coloradans in wildfire risk areas. Hispanics, African Americans, and Native Americans experience a 50 percent vulnerability to wildfires. According to Cádiz, language is the greatest barrier for the Hispanic population in those areas to participate in disaster prevention plans. However, Cádiz indicates that Hispanics are aware of the impacts of climate change as revealed by the 2016 Latino Decisions survey.