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Hayman Fire - Wildfire Area Photos
Beginning in a campfire circle on the morning of June 8, 2002, the Hayman fire would quickly grow to become the largest recorded wildfire in Colorado's history. Spurred by record drought and extreme weather, the Hayman fire would burn nearly 138,000 acres over the course of three weeks. Two major fire activity periods, June 8-10 and June 17-18, marked by high winds and record-low relative humidity, would account for the majority of the total acreage burned as well as 93% of the 132 homes lost.
The following photos were taken in October 2004; more than 2 years after the Hayman Fire. |
Click on the thumbnails to enlarge the pictures. |
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This is the same photo as above just in a different format. It looks very peaceful but if you look closer .. |
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.. you can see some of the damage caused by the Hayman Fire. |
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Some of the trees did not burn and display some neat fall colors. |
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When you drive through the area it is dead-silent. You do not hear any people, there is no traffic, there are no animals, no birds around. |
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Two years after the fire you can see some new growth. |
Severe drought was a significant factor
By the first week of June, all of Colorado was experiencing severe to extreme drought conditions. Snowpack throughout the spring was at less than 50 percent of normal with melt-out occurring almost six weeks ahead of the usual date. Fuel moisture in the Hayman area was at record lows and was seen as approaching the "theoretical lower limit."
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Extreme weather conditions promoted rapid spread
On June 9, 2002, the National Interagency Fire Center issued a Red Flag Warning in Colorado for winds at 25-35 mph, very warm weather and extremely low relative humidity. News outlets reported gusts of up to 60 mph. On this Red Flag day, the Hayman fire ran for 17 miles, burned through a series of small fuel reduction projects, at least one clearcut, and across many roads including a 3-lane highway. Indicative of the extreme conditions, one section of the fire spread ½ mile in just four minutes. "This fire is totally dominated by mother nature, all wind-driven and because of the drought conditions it's that much more unpredictable," said Susan Haywood, spokeswoman for an interagency firefighting team.
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The left tree burnt only halfway. |
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An overview. |
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Another overview with countless burnt trees. |
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There are always a few trees |
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Only previous fires and changing weather slowed the Hayman fire
Over 21,000 acres of modified fuels (previous wildfires, prescribed burning, thinning, logging, etc.) were encountered by the Hayman fire. Forest Service researchers and university scientists who reviewed the fire determined that the fire's response to these fuel modifications was complex and does not lend itself to any one conclusion or summary.3 On moderate weather days, instances of both success and failure in terms of altering the fire's spread or severity were observed. Aided by high winds on extreme weather days, however, the fire burned through fuel treatments unaffected. Significantly, the only fuel modification deemed to have "stopped" the fire was recent fire (rather than thinning).
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