State of Colorado experiences worst wildfire season in 2020

by Chris Elvidge and Feng Chi Hsu (map by Elijah Mt. Castle)

2020 was the worst fire season on record for the State of Colorado. The Cameron Peak Fire, rated as the state’s largest, broke records by consuming 208,663 acres, forced evacuation of over 20,000 residents, and burnt a sizeable portion of Rocky Mountain National Park. Not far behind was the Pine Gulch fire, which burnt 139,007 acres. In total, 625,356 acres burnt in 2020 across Colorado. The map here shows the location and extent of satellite fire detections from VIIRS Nightfire, produced nightly at the Colorado School of Mines by the Earth Observation Group.

June 14, 2021