The Caldor fire burned about 222,000 acres, destroyed 1,003 structures and damaged 81. The Monument Fire burned about 223,100 acres. The Dixie fire burned 963,309 acres and destroyed 1,329 structures in five counties and damaged 95 structures. In California, the Dixie fire is the second largest fire on record in the state, according to Calfire, and is second only to the August Complex fire of August 2020 which burned over a million acres. Further, that regionвЂ™s prime fire months often come in November and December.Д®arlier fires included the Bootleg Fire In Oregon, ignited on July 6, that burned 413,7617 acres before being contained. However, the situation is different in southern California, which did not have as much rain. Record rainfall at the end of October point to the end of the fire season for northern California, but also brought debris flows to the area. Washington, Oregon and Montana each had one fire burning. On October 29, 2021, four states reported six large fires including California, which had 3 fires. About 6.5 million acres were burned through Octocompared with 8.5 million during the same period in 2020. Compounded by JuneвЂ™s heat wave, the threat of wildfires appeared a month ahead of schedule.ДЇrom January 1 to Octothere were 48,366 wildfires, compared with 47,132 in the same period in 2020, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Drought Monitor by August 31, about 90 percent of land in the Western states was experiencing moderate to severe drought. This yearвЂ™s wildfire season was predicted to be another severe one. homes were identified at high or extreme risk of wildfire, with more than 2 million in California alone. The remaining 10 percent are started by lightning or lava.ДЄccording to VeriskвЂ™s 2019 Wildfire Risk Analysis 4.5 million U.S. Some human-caused fires result from campfires left unattended, the burning of debris, downed power lines, negligently discarded cigarettes and intentional acts of arson. As many as 90 percent of wildland fires in the United States are caused by people, according to the U.S. For more information, call 920-1664 or visit. Avalanche danger details provided by the Colorado Avalanche Information Center.

Observers feel it is still probable that people could trigger slabs on the right terrain on the Aspen side of the Elk Mountains.

But many observers are using the word variable to describe their backcountry conditions, which means skiers and boarders need to continuously re-evaluate the snow and terrain they are traveling on and keep up their avalanche sense.The overall danger for the central mountains has been lowered, though not for the Aspen area as there are still pockets of considerable. (Unfortunately, Nordic skiers have to rely on Mother Nature for early season snow!)Avalanche reportA handful of slides were reported yesterday, all in the northern mountains. 2.On the cross-country skiing side of things, Aspen/Snowmass is reporting one of 14 trails open for five miles of skiing on a machine-groomed base of just under 6 inches.

Also scheduled to open over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend are Beaver Creek (which will open tomorrow with five lifts serving 23 runs and 412 acres), Durango, Monarch, Ski Cooper, Steamboat and Telluride.They join Arapahoe Basin, Breckenridge, Copper Mountain, Crested Butte, Eldora, Keystone, Loveland, Vail, Winter Park and Wolf Creek, which will slowly ratchet up their available terrain.Lifts will roll at Aspen Highlands and Buttermilk on Dec. The same holds true for several resorts around the state. Today is the last day before the season officially opens in Aspen (see related story) Snowmass will open on Thursday. With sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-40s predicted for the next few days, it may not be the most wintry start to a ski season.

Almost over the hill