The Lee Fire in Rio Blanco County forced public land closures, evacuations, and filled the Roaring Fork Valley with smoke for days after weeks of relentless work by first responders. The nearly 138,000-acre blaze is almost totally contained, but the Derby fire in Eagle and Garfield counties continues to smolder through the National Forest public lands. Experts say that wildfire season is getting longer, hotter, and more unpredictable.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, much of the Western Slope is currently experiencing extreme to exceptional drought. A 2021 study supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that climate change is the primary driver of fire weather in the Western United States. It's causing the U.S. Forest Service fire suppression expenditures to balloon. In 2015, the agency reported that it had to spend the majority of its congressionally appropriated budget on fire suppression, and just three years later, the nationwide costs topped $3 billion.
The USDA currently employs over 11,000 wildland firefighters, 770 of which were hired this year to work in the Rocky Mountain region. The White River National Forest has 14 positions open, including three senior positions, a helicopter manager and two engine captains.
