Boulder fire Danger. fire chief Larry Donner interview: EXTREMELY DRY, FIRE WATCH, BE PREPARED FOR NEXT EVAC #boulderfire
Nov 5th
Boulder Colorado
Larry Donner Boulder fire chief talks to Boulder Channel 1 news this afternoon.
Larry Donner Boulder fire chief:” People need to have a heightened awareness this weekend. It is very dry out. Though we are not in Red Flag Warning situation which requires high wind and high temperatures, we could go there if the wind picks up. tomorrow, saturday, the temperatures will high enough. Heightened awareness in in order.
We have low moisture so by mid day when the temperatures heat up ‘flashy fuels” such as grass ( these are the ones which burn first) are easily igniteable ”
People need to put defensible space around their homes and not put that work on their to do list. that includes moving firewood and cutting tall grass near homes. Some people think that grass is not much of a threat, but 4 foot high grass can have a crown of ten feet and be very dangerous.
Wildland fire behavior is much like flood water behavior. Fire has currents and eddies. So when you’ll notice that two or three houses in a neighborhood will be burned and one will be left standing, that is most probabluy a result of the currents formed by fires.
residents don’t realize just how dangerous wild land fires can be until it is too late. In the four mile fire we had people on sunshine canyon who didn’t want to leave, but the fire was moving so fast, that though it was a few miles away they waited until smoke and embers forced them out . That is a dangerous situation for everyone. those embers were the size of roof shingles and they were blowing one mile in front of the fire. We can’t stop that.
fire fighters lives are put at risk when residents do not want to leave. They don’t think it is so bad, but if they get in the way of fire fighting efforts, we have to then have to rescue them and in some cases our selves. That was the case in the four Mile fire.
What people need to realize is that if the wind is blowing in a hot wild land fire, The fire is moving at 40 miles per hour. You can’t out run that. It comes up on you real fast and then it is too late.
There have been experiments done in Australia where residents stayed behind to fight wild land fires, but when the fire arrived at their property it was crowning at 10 to 20 feet , moving at 30 to 50 mph, was extremely hot ..and it killed everyone in its path. That’s what we always want to avoid in Boulder.
I scratch my head when I see most wild fires are human caused. People should not be burning anything near open space with conditions like this. this is a very hightened condition for fires..
We have something called “point protection, where we will pick the most likely house to save, but down the road 3 or 4 other houses will burn because of poor space protection, high winds and flying ambers.
So , yeah, this weekend remain vigilant and aware.”
Hazardous Weather Outlook
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO 1102 AM MDT FRI NOV 05 2010 COZ030>051-061200- JACKSON COUNTY BELOW 9000 FEET-WEST JACKSON AND WEST GRAND COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-GRAND AND SUMMIT COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND EAST JACKSON/LARIMER/NORTH AND NORTHEAST GRAND/ NORTHWEST BOULDER COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST GRAND/WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST BOULDER/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/ SUMMIT/NORTH AND WEST PARK COUNTIES ABOVE 9000 FEET-LARIMER AND BOULDER COUNTIES BETWEEN 6000 AND 9000 FEET-JEFFERSON AND WEST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET/GILPIN/CLEAR CREEK/NORTHEAST PARK COUNTIES BELOW 9000 FEET-CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PARK COUNTY-LARIMER COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTHWEST WELD COUNTY-BOULDER AND JEFFERSON COUNTIES BELOW 6000 FEET/WEST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-NORTH DOUGLAS COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/DENVER/WEST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES/ EAST BROOMFIELD COUNTY-ELBERT/CENTRAL AND EAST DOUGLAS COUNTIES ABOVE 6000 FEET-NORTHEAST WELD COUNTY-CENTRAL AND SOUTH WELD COUNTY-MORGAN COUNTY-CENTRAL AND EAST ADAMS AND ARAPAHOE COUNTIES- NORTH AND NORTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/NORTH LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHEAST ELBERT COUNTY BELOW 6000 FEET/SOUTH LINCOLN COUNTY-LOGAN COUNTY-WASHINGTON COUNTY-SEDGWICK COUNTY-PHILLIPS COUNTY- 1102 AM MDT FRI NOV 05 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTHEAST AND NORTH CENTRAL COLORADO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HIGH PRESSURE WILL REMAIN OVER THE REGION THROUGH TONIGHT WITH DRY CONDITIONS CONTINUING. TEMPERATURES TODAY WILL BE ABOUT 10 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS NORTHEAST COLORADO. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY NEAR RECORD WARMTH CAN BE EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND WITH DAYTIME HIGHS PUSHING WELL INTO THE 70S ACROSS THE PLAINS. IN THE HIGH COUNTRY... DAYTIME HIGHS WILL REACH THE 50S AND 60S. A LARGE UPPER LEVEL RIDGE ACROSS THE CENTRAL ROCKIES WILL BRING THE UNSEASONABLY WARM CONDITIONS. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...A SERIES OF UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES AND COLD FRONTS WILL BRING COOLER TEMPERATURES AND SOME PRECIPITATION TO THE FORECAST AREA. THE FIRST SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS THE STATE MONDAY NIGHT INTO TUESDAY IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE MAINLY LIGHT PRECIPITATION WITH A FEW INCHES OF SNOW POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9500 FEET. ON THE PLAINS...PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL BE LOWER WITH A RAIN AND SNOW MIX POSSIBLE. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM BY THURSDAY HAS A POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE MORE SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION ESPECIALLY IN THE MOUNTAINS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION WILL NOT BE NEEDED TODAY OR TONIGHT. $$ D-L/BARJENBRUCH
‘Catching Your Future’ college fair set for Nov. 13
Nov 3rd
Boulder County, Colo. – All Boulder County students in grades 8-12 are invited to attend the third annual “Catching Your Future” college fair on Nov. 13 in Longmont.
What: Catching Your Future college fair
When: Saturday, Nov. 13, 11:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
Where: Front Range Community College, 2121 Miller Drive, Longmont
The fair offers five workshops for families, all of which will be presented in English and Spanish:
• Funding Your Future, assistance with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid and scholarship opportunities
• Take Action Now, learn about concurrent enrollment opportunities
• Making Your Statement, help in writing scholarship essays
• Paving Your Way to College, educating students about civic engagement and the importance of volunteering
• College for All Students, nontraditional pathways and opportunities for college
Participants attending a minimum of three workshops will be eligible to win prizes, including Netbooks, iPods, and scholarships totaling more than $2,000.
SOURCE: BOULDER COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
Local colleges and universities will participate, including Colorado, Colorado State, Mesa State, Northern Colorado, Regis and more. Families can also visit with local agencies that support students in reaching their educational goals.
The fair is organized by Sharing Achievement For Student Success in Education, a student-led organization whose focus is to help Boulder County’s low-income, minority, and first-generation students achieve their goals for higher education.
Last year’s fair reached more than 250 county families and awarded more than $3,000 in scholarships.
Boulder County election results accurately reported during the general election
Nov 3rd
Boulder County, Colo. – In response to continued claims of inaccurate reporting of votes in Boulder County for the U.S. Senate race in Colorado, we want to reiterate that at no time did Boulder County contribute to the inaccurate reporting of those numbers.
Boulder County’s ballot processing and results reporting went smoothly throughout the general election, and preliminary election results were accurately posted at all times at www.VoteBoulder.org.
The Associated Press has acknowledged an error in how they reported certain election results last night, including vote totals from Boulder County for the U.S. Senate race. These inaccurate accounts were widely reported and attributed to Boulder County, but those claims are false. The error appears to be in how the totals were uploaded to a newswire database and had nothing to do with how they were posted online by elections officials at Boulder County.
SOURCE: BOULDER COUNTY NEWS RELEASE
