Wildfires

The Mountain West has seen plenty of wildfires this year, but nothing like the catastrophic large fires still burning along the West Coast. That's largely thanks to a relatively wet spring.

The city of Fort Collins is mandating temporary outdoor water restrictions this fall for the first time since 2013, due to a combination of drought, wildfire runoff and routine reservoir maintenance.

Freak natural disasters — most with what scientists say likely have a climate change connection — seem to be everywhere in the crazy year 2020. But experts say we’ll probably look back and say those were the good old days, when disasters weren’t so wild.

Fire officials are expecting the Cameron Peak Fire west of Fort Collins to see renewed activity this week with higher temperatures in the forecast. Last week’s snowstorm damped the flames and kept the fire from growing, but it’s not fully out. Story updated Sept. 15 at 11:42 a.m.

The Cameron Peak Fire burning near the headwaters of the Cache la Poudre River could complicate some routine maintenance scheduled for the city of Fort Collins’s drinking water infrastructure this fall.

For days now, wildfire smoke has degraded the air quality in much of the Mountain West, and that unhealthy air is forcing tough decisions for schools that are trying to reopen.

The Pine Gulch Fire is now the second largest in our state’s history. Why is Colorado seeing record-breaking fires recently? KUNC’s Colorado Edition reached out to Jennifer Balch, a fire scientist and director of Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder, to help answer that question.

A young bear rescued after suffering burns in the East Canyon Fire in June was released on Monday, wildlife officials said.

Thousands of firefighters from across the U.S. battling dozens of wildfires burning throughout the West. It’s an inherently dangerous job that now carries the additional risk of COVID-19 transmission.

The Lewstone Fire started Saturday about 15 miles northwest of Fort Collins. KUNC's Karlie Huckels spoke with Jered Kramer, spokesman for the Larimer County Sheriff's Office, for the latest update.