Floods and wildfires are arguably the two most common disasters Coloradans face with numerous such events occurring each year. To better prepare residents for the danger of these disasters, this week is Colorado Flood Safety and Wildfire Preparedness Week.
Each day this week the National Weather Service will be posting public information statements covering a number of different topics about floods and wildfires. These important messages should be required reading for all Coloradans so they know what to do to prepare for these events and handle them when they occur.
ThorntonWeather.com will be posting each of these messages as a service to our readers. The first of these messages is below. Check back each day this week for further topics.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BOULDER CO
600 AM MDT SUN MARCH 7 2021
Flood and wildfire season is approaching. The National Weather Service Offices in Colorado have joined with Colorado Governor Jared Polis to declare March 7 to 13 Colorado FLOOD SAFETY AND WILDFIRE AWARENESS WEEK. Use the information provided during the coming days to help understand your risks from floods and wildfire and make your plans to be prepared.
The National Weather Service wants everyone in the United States to be part of a Weather-Ready nation. Colorado has more than its fair share of floods, flash floods, and wildfires. You should be weather alert and weather-ready, knowing how to stay safe when floods and wildfires affect your area.
Floodprone areas have been identified in over 250 cities and towns and in all 64 counties in Colorado. Over 250 thousand people live in floodplains in Colorado. There are estimated to be 65 thousand homes and 15 thousand commercial, industrial, and business structures in identified floodplains. There are likely many more structures located within unmapped flood hazard areas. The value of the property, structures, and contents located in the identified floodplains is estimated to be around 15 billion dollars.
Floods and flash floods have killed over 400 people in Colorado since the turn of the 20th century. The historic weather pattern of September 2013 reminds us all that floods are a major concern across the Centennial state. Floods have caused billions of dollars of damage in Colorado.
On average, 2500 wildfires occur across Colorado each year. Since 2012, 8 people have been killed when wildfires occurred in the wildland-urban interface.
The National Weather Service forecast offices which serve Colorado will issue a series of public information statements during this Colorado Flood Safety and Wildfire Awareness Week…covering the following topics:
Sunday…Introduction to the week
Monday…Flood watches and warnings
Tuesday…River floods
Wednesday…Flash floods
Thursday…Fire forecasts…watches…and warnings
Friday…Wildfire safety and mitigation
Saturday…Review of the week
More information on floods and wildfires is available at your local National Weather Service web sites…
http://www.weather.gov/denver NWS Dnver/Boulder web site
http://www.weather.gov/pueblo NWS Pueblo web site
http://www.weather.gov/goodland NWS Goodland web site
http://www.weather.gov/gjt NWS Grand Junction web site
Colorado Flood Safety and Wildfire Preparedness Week