News and opinion about wildland fire
Firefighters have slowed the spread
October 20, 2020 | 8:56 a.m. MDT
On Monday the Calwood Fire northwest of boulder grew a relatively small amount on the west and northwest sides. An overnight mapping flight updated the size to 9,365 acres.
On the map above the red line is the perimeter of the Calwood Fire at 9:15 p.m. MDT Oct. 19, 2020, mapped by a fixed wing aircraft. The red shaded areas represent intense heat at that time. The small black line was the perimeter about 24 hours before.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire4 Comments on Photos of the Calwood Fire as it approached Hwy 36 
Ben Nelson, a professional photographer at Envision Studio in Boulder, Colorado, took these photos as the Calwood Fire was spreading toward Highway 36 northwest of Boulder.
You can follow Ben on Instagram: @_bennelson and @envisionstudio
and on Twitter: @envisionBen
The Calwood Fire has burned 8,700 acres and destroyed over 20 homes.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Calwood Fire including the most recent, click here.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire2 Comments on At least 23 homes destroyed in Calwood Fire northwest of Boulder, CO Over 8,700 acres have burned
Updated October 19, 2020 | 11:03 a.m. MDT
Of the 20+ homes that were damaged or destroyed in the Calwood Fire on October 17, most of them are in this Google Earth image. Mountain Ridge Road is called Mountain Ridge Drive by Boulder County OEM.
October 19, 2020 | 9:17 a.m. MDT
Officials in Boulder County, Colorado have documented 23 homes that were destroyed October 17 in the Calwood Fire. The process is ongoing and more buildings may be added as the surveys continue. The fire has burned 8,788 acres. Officials made attempts to notify all of the property owners but unfortunately were not able to reach everyone, so they made the list available in order to facilitate reaching all impacted residents and owners.
Evacuations are in effect for about 1,600 homes.
The weather on Sunday was cool and wet, resulting in very little additional movement of the fire. A few hundredths of an inch of rain gave firefighters a chance to begin the process of working the fire edge to stop the spread. The forecast indicates the respite is ending with the humidity dropping to 25 percent Monday and winds out of the west at 9 mph gusting to 16 under partly cloudy skies. Monday night the west winds will increase to 20 mph with gusts above 30 mph. These conditions could make it more difficult to contain the east side of the fire.
Below is an updated map of the Calwood Fire. Most of the growth over the last 24 hours, a small amount, was on the west side.
Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories Wildfire15 Comments on Calwood Fire erupts northwest of Boulder, Colorado It was plume dominated within an hour
Updated October 18, 2020 | 9:33 p.m. MDT
The Boulder Office of Emergency Management has released a preliminary list of the structures that were destroyed or damaged in the Calwood Fire. The list includes 23 homes described as a total loss. The process is ongoing and more buildings may be added as the surveys continue.
The weather on Sunday stopped the spread of the Calwood Fire which has burned 8,788 acres seven miles north-northwest of Boulder. Weather stations in the area recorded one or two hundredths of an inch of precipitation during the day while the humidity ranged in the 80s or 90s.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Calwood Fire including the most recent, click here.
Firefighting aircraft were hampered by the weather in the morning but were back in the air in the afternoon.
The weather forecast is similar to the one for the Lefthand Fire — strong winds out of the west Sunday night at 16 mph gusting at 25 to 30 mph with the humidity in the 50s. For Monday expect decreasing west winds of 10 mph gusting to 17 while the RH drops to the low 20s. Tuesday will be about the same with slightly stronger west winds.
Updated October 18, 2020 | 7:16 a.m. MDT
The perimeter of the Calwood Fire in the map above was collected by a U.S. Forest Service fixed wing aircraft at 10:58 p.m. MDT October 17. The preliminary estimated size at that time was 8,788 acres. The red shaded areas represent intense heat.
Boulder County has published a map with evacuation information.
Updated October 17, 2020 | 6:04 p.m. MDT
A fixed wing aircraft determined at 4 p.m. Saturday that the Calwood Fire had burned 6,600 acres.
Updated October 17, 2020 | 5:41 p.m. MDT
Colorado’s Multi-Mission Aircraft collected the data in the map above. The time on Saturday afternoon is not certain. The crew estimates the Calwood Fire had at that time burned about 3,300 acres. Spot fires have reached Highway 36 to the east.
Boulder County has information about evacuations that have been ordered.
Continue reading “Calwood Fire erupts northwest of Boulder, Colorado”
