CLIMATE - Interactive Wildfires Map Tracks the Blazes in Colorado

By Climate Central

Aided by strong winds, the Black Forest wildfire near Colorado Springs has now become the most destructive fire in Colorado's history, surpassing 2012's Waldo Canyon fire. It's burning through thousands of acres of land, and firefighters are struggling to contain the blaze. The 15,702-acre Black Forest fire has destroyed at least 360 homes and forced the evacuation of nearly 40,000 people from areas in and around Colorado Springs, the state's second-largest city. The wildfire is responsible for two deaths so far, after two bodies were discovered on Thursday.

The Black Forest fire is one of three wildfires currently burning across Colorado, and one of several burning across the drought-ridden West.

You can monitor the wildfires with Climate Central's interactive wildfires map. The flame icons represent wildfires currently active in the lower 48 states and Alaska, including the Black Forest fire in Colorado. Hover over a given fire to see its name, and if you zoom in you'll be able to see the outline of the area that's burning - the so-called fire perimeter. If you click within the perimeter, a window pops up showing the fire's size in acres, the amount by which the perimeter has grown or shrunk over the past 24 hours, the fraction of the fire that has been contained and other data. There's also a link to an even more detailed report.

As temperature warms and large parts of the U.S. become drier, wildfires are becoming more common and widespread - a trend likely to worsen thanks to climate change caused by human greenhouse gas emissions as well as land use change and population growth.

The interactive is based on data from the Geospatial Multi-Agency Coordination Group; the information is updated once a day from reports by fire managers on the scene, satellite imagery and GPS data, among other sources.

The wildfires are burning in an area that has been experiencing record heat and drought. On June 12, one day after the fire ignited, a record-high temperature of 97°F was set in Colorado Springs, breaking the mark of 93°F set in 1956. Denver reached 100°F, setting a record for the earliest 100-degree day in the city's history.

Percent of normal precipitation for the January-through-May period, showing much below average precipitation across the West, including Colorado. Credit: NOAA.

According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, 26.51 percent of Colorado is experiencing "extreme" to "exceptional" drought conditions, after a winter that featured below-average snowpack across the state's southern mountains.

Federal wildfire officials are expecting a severe wildfire season across the West as another summer of drought takes its toll.

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