Colorado is Burning. For Many Scientists, It’s Personal. - Union of Concerned Scientists

blog.ucsusa.org · 1,780 words · saved by 1 readers

Flames tower above the trees in the 2012 Waldo Canyon Fire in Colorado. The third most destructive fires in state history, it burned nearly 350 homes (Airman Magazine, Flickr / CC BY-NC 2.0)

Taryn MacKinney Former Contributor At 11 a.m. on December 30, 2021, I drove from my family’s home in Fort Collins, Colorado, to the Denver airport, excited for a trip to visit a friend. I boarded the plane around 1:45 p.m. The woman next to me asked if I was from Colorado (I am!) and then pointed out the window. “Is that from a fire?” she asked. I looked out and noticed for the first time a smoggy haze on the horizon. What? It couldn’t be a wildfire, I thought. It’s December. So I mumbled a hasty answer: “It might be dust because it’s so windy!” The plane took off and, dazzled by the view, I s

Colorado is Burning. For Many Scientists, It’s Personal. - Union of Concerned Scientists

related reading