Colorado blaze and drought signals

A wildfire near Trinidad pushed past 640 acres this week as Colorado officials declared an emergency and closed the Lake Dorothey State Wildlife Area. (coloradosun.com, dhsem.colorado.gov) The Schwachheim fire started April 12 and was listed at 646 acres and 0% containment on April 14, burning in rugged drainages west of Lake Dorothey Reservoir about two miles from the Colorado-New Mexico border. (coloradosun.com) Governor Jared Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency on April 13, activating the State Emergency Operations Plan and directing state public safety and fire agencies to support response, recovery and mitigation. (dhsem.colorado.gov) The fire is moving through steep terrain and an old burn scar, where erratic winds have complicated line building and slowed crews. Colorado Parks and Wildlife closed the wildlife area as the response expanded. (coloradosun.com, cpw.state.co.us) At the same time, Manitou Springs began Stage I water restrictions on April 10 as the city drew down its 2 million-gallon Mesa storage tank for rehabilitation and faced what local and federal officials described as historically low snowpack. (manitouspringsco.gov, gazette.com) Under those restrictions, residents can be limited to watering twice a week if stored water drops below 1.5 years of supply, a threshold the city highlighted as it tries to preserve reserves during the tank work. (gazette.com, manitouspringsco.gov) Colorado’s water outlook has darkened quickly this spring. The National Integrated Drought Information System said Colorado set a new record-low April 1 snow water equivalent, a measure of how much liquid water is stored in mountain snow. (drought.gov) State officials had already escalated their drought response on March 16, when Polis activated Colorado’s Drought Task Force and Phase 2 of the state drought plan because of low snowpack and record warmth. (cwcb.colorado.gov) Wildfire officials have tied those conditions to an earlier and potentially tougher fire season. Rocky Mountain PBS reported on April 7 that Colorado had its warmest March on record and that state fire managers were already seeing early-season fire activity. (rmpbs.org) The immediate test is on the ground near Trinidad, where firefighters are still trying to box in a blaze that arrived before Colorado’s snow-fed water cushion did. (coloradosun.com, drought.gov)