BREAKING: Colorado Wildfire Burns At Least 500 Homes

Just a couple of the hundreds of homes going up in flames
near Boulder, Colorado today 

 A terrible winter wildfire was sweeping through neighborhoods in and near Boulder Colorado, prompting mass evacuations and burning more than 500 homes - so far.  

The area involved is in drought and has had almost no snow so far this winter.  Downslope winds of 70 to 90 mph are fanning the flames, leading to the disaster. 

 There's no word on any fatalities yet, but I worry some are inevitable, given how quickly flames spread in the intense winds. 

Wildfires sometimes happen during the winter in the Plains east of the Colorado Rockies even in winter. But nothing on this scale. This might be the worst wildfire in Colorado history.

As I write this Thursday evening, the fires continued to chew through densely populated neighborhoods.

It is supposed to snow in Boulder tomorrow, finally, but that will be too little, too late.  I'm going to pin the blame on this partly on climate change.  The high winds this time of year are common in the Boulder area. But the snow-free conditions and drought are ot. 

I"ll have more on this in Friday's post.