OT the Marshall Fire in Colorado

[dave54]

On other forums a lot of posters asked how and why that fire happened. The mountain wave phenomena could occur while out backpacking, so I cross posted an explanation here.

https://www.weather.gov/bou/MarshallFire20211230

[Teresa Gergen]

I owned a home in the Sagamore subdivision in Superior from early 2000 through late 2015; I lived in that house longer than any other place in my life. The entire subdivision was completely destroyed. The house backed up on the west side to 3 miles of grassy open space and trails leading all the way to Hwy 93. There were windows in every room on the west side of the house, all looking out to an incredible view over that open space to the Flatirons beyond. The wind was always fierce there. I had to have the glass in my windows replaced 3 times while I was there due to the seals breaking. Some times I would go down to sleep in the basement because the house would noticeably shake so badly in the wind.

The fire broke out some time around 11:30. I was still in Boulder County's emergency alert system for some reason, despite having left the county 6 years ago. I received the evacuation email at 12:15 pm. There are Youtube videos out there from my subdivision showing the flames almost reaching the houses by 12:25. There was virtually no time to act. If you weren't already home, you weren't allowed back in for anything, not even pets.

If you were on foot i.e. out backpacking in the way of a fire that large moving that fast, I'm not sure how you'd stand a chance.