A wildfire erupted with strong winds across northern Fort Carson. Strong winds rapidly spread the blaze, which eventually consumed 9000 acres.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
The episode as NWS PUB wrote it up.
A wildfire erupted with strong winds across northern Fort Carson. Strong winds rapidly spread the blaze, which eventually consumed 9000 acres. Highway 115 was closed for a time, and 750 residents were evacuated. Tragically, an aircraft fighting the fire crashed, killing the pilot.
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Pueblo, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 15, 1:56 PM MST, 4 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 256 PM MDT TUE APR 15 2008 .SHORT TERM... (TONIGHT AND WEDNESDAY) ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS EVENING...BIG CHANGES FOR WEDNESDAY... WINDS HAVE COME UP AND DEWPOINTS DROPPED IN ACCORDANCE WITH FORECAST. MOST AREAS UNDER RED FLAG WARNING MET CRITERIA EARLY ON. DRY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE WELL INTO THE EVENING AND WILL KEEP RED FLAG GOING UNTIL 2100. TONIGHT...WINDS OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND SOUTHEAST PLAINS WILL REMAIN UP WELL INTO THE NIGHT ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHERN SANGRES. THIS WILL KEEP THINGS PRETTY MIXED AND WILL LIMIT THE RH RECOVERY IN THAT AREA. COLD FRONT WILL SURGE SOUTHWARD LATE TONIGHT CROSSING THE PALMER DIVIDE AROUND 08Z THEN SPREADING SOUTHWARD TO NM BORDER BY 12Z. NOT MUCH PRECIP WITH THIS BOUNDARY BUT INCREASE CLOUDS OVER THE EAST. WEDNESDAY...BIG CHANGES ON THE WAY. COLD FRONT SURGES SOUTH TO N M BORDER BY 12Z THEN UPPER JET MAX ROUNDS THE TROF AND PUSHES THE BOUNDARY NORTH AS A WARM FRONT. LOW LEVEL WINDS OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS WILL TURN NORTHEAST WITH THE FIRST SURGE THEN SOUTHERN AREAS WILL GO BACK AROUND TO THE SOUTH. BY 18Z SREF AND WRF HAVE THE WARM FRONT BOUNDARY ALONG THE ARKANSAS RIVER. THIS WILL MAKE THE TEMP AND WIND FORECASTS VERY CHALLENGING. SECOND SURGE MOVES ACROSS THE PALMER DIVIDE AFTER 18Z AND THEN REINFORCES THE EXISTING BOUNDARY ALONG ARKANSAS THEN CONTINUES TO PUSH SOUTHWARD. BIG QUESTION IS HOW FAST WILL TEMPS FALL AND HOW MUCH MOISTURE WILL COME IN WITH THE BOUNDARY. BUFKIT HAS A 20 DEGREE DROP IN TEMPS AT COS FROM 1600-1700 MDT. CURRENT INDICATIONS SUGGEST HIGH PRECIP PROBABILITIES ARE IN ORDER OVER PIKES PEAK REGION WITH SNOW LEVELS ABOVE 8000 FEET BUT DROPPING QUICKLY TO 6000 FEET AFTER 22Z. THIS WOULD SUGGEST PRECIP OVER TELLER COUNTY AS ALL SNOW BUT STARTING AS RAIN OVER THE PALMER DIVIDE AND REST OF EL PASO COUNTY THEN QUICKLY CHANGING TO SNOW. MEASURABLE SNOW LIKELY OVER TELLER COUNTY AND OVER PALMER DIVIDE. SHOULD BE ENOUGH CAPE ALONG BOUNDARY TO SUGGEST ISOLD TSTMS POSSIBLE WITH STRONG SURFACE CONVERGENCE. -FORTUNE- .LONG TERM... (WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY) ...MODERATE TO HIGH IMPACT WEATHER EVENT FOR WED NIGHT - THU MORNING... ...HEAVY SNOW POSSIBLE TELLER/NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTIES THROUGH THU MORNING... WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...AS USUAL...THE ACTUAL EVOLUTION OF THE WEATHER SYSTEM MOVING THROUGH THE CENTRAL ROCKIES WILL DICTATE THE IMPACT WEATHER SEVERITY. GFS AND ECMWF CONTINUE TO SUGGEST A LOW CLOSING OFF/DEEPENING SLIGHTLY OVER NORTHWESTERN/NORTH CENTRAL NM BY LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH THE LOW SLOWLY MIGRATING INTO THE OK/TX PANHANDLES BY LATE THURSDAY AFTERNOON. GIVEN THE RELATIVELY SLOW MOVEMENT...MUCH OF SOUTHERN CO COULD BE IN THE PRIME STORM- RELATIVELY SYNOPTIC SCALE ASCENT... SO THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME QPF CWFA-WIDE APPEARS TO BE IN THE OFFING WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND AT LEAST THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING. 700-600MB AND 600-500MB FRONTOGENETICAL FORCING...IMPLIED UPWARD VERTICAL MOTION...WILL BE ACROSS OUR EASTERN CO MOUNTAINS AND I-25 CORRIDOR WEDNESDAY EVENING AND THE SHIFT/SPREAD EASTWARD INTO THE EASTERN CO PLAINS. NOT THE STRONGEST SURFACE LOW DEVELOPS JUST SOUTH OF THE FAR SOUTHEAST CO PLAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT...AND IT HEADS EASTWARD WITH THE PARENT WEATHER SYSTEM. THE SURFACE LOW POSITION AND TRACK WILL BE CRITICAL FOR SURFACE/PBL WINDS. RIGHT NOW...IT APPEARS A NORTH- NORTHEASTERLY LOW LEVEL WIND DEVELOPS ACROSS THE I-25 CORRIDOR AND SOUTHEAST CO PLAINS. THIS WOULD PLACE THE HIGHER QPF/POP BULLSEYES ACROSS NORTHERN TELLER AND NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTIES...SOUTHERN PUEBLO COUNTY...WET MOUNTAINS...SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS...AND SOUTHERN FOOTHILLS/RATON MESA. IT IS POSSIBLE THE MODERATE DOWNSLOPE FLOW ACROSS SOUTHERN EL PASO AND NORTHERN PUEBLO COUNTIES WILL BE OVERCOME BY THE STRONGER SYNOPTIC SCALE ASCENT AND ALLOW FOR A LITTLE MORE QPF ACROSS THESE AREAS WITH THIS WEATHER SYSTEM SCENARIO...ESPECIALLY WITH THE AIRMASS BEING RELATIVELY UNSTABLE WEDNESDAY EVENING AND A POTENTIAL FOR A FEW THUNDERSTORMS TO DEVELOP. HPC QPF SEEMS TO BE VERY HEAVY HANDED... ESPECIALLY IN DOWNSLOPE OROGRAPHIC AREAS LIKE SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY. HAVE GONE WITH A BLEND OF HPC AND SREF QPF FOR STARTERS. NEEDLESS TO SAY...MOST AREAS ACROSS SOUTHERN CO SHOULD RECEIVE SOME PRECIPITATION. PRECIPITATION TYPE WILL BE THE NEXT CHALLENGE. WET BULB ZERO HEIGHT FALLS TO AROUND 5K FT MSL DURING WEDNESDAY NIGHT. MOST OF THE ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL LIKELY BE ABOVE 5K FT MSL...AND THE MORE SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATING SNOW ABOVE 7K FT MSL...ESPECIALLY ACROSS TELLER AND NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTIES. AS MENTIONED...TOUGH CALL ON THE INTENSITY OF THE QPF/SNOW AMOUNTS FOR THOSE AREAS THAT COULD SEE SNOW. ALL MOUNTAINS/HIGH VALLEYS WILL LIKELY SEE SNOW...BUT POSSIBLY LESSER AMOUNTS THAN TELLER AND NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTIES. THIS APPEARS TO BE AROUND AN 18 HOUR EVENT...SO USING THE 12+ HOUR CRITERIA(12 OR MORE FOR MOUNTAINS AND 8 OR MORE FOR NON-MOUNTAINS) WOULD SUGGEST THE POTENTIAL WARNING AREAS AROUND TELLER AND MAYBE A FEW SPOTS ACROSS NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY. ALSO...HAVE TO REMEMBER...ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS...THE FIRST FEW ROUNDS OF SNOW WILL MELT QUICKLY GIVEN THE RELATIVELY WARM ANTECEDENT CONDITIONS. HOWEVER...THE AIRMASS WILL BE CONVECTIVELY UNSTABLE TO ALLOW FOR INTENSE PRECIPITATION CORES. ANY STRONG DIABATIC COOLING WOULD SIGNIFICANTLY DROP SNOW LEVELS QUICKLY. IN CONJUNCTION WITH BOU...WILL ISSUE A WINTER STORM WATCH ACROSS TELLER AND NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTIES. THE OTHER MOUNTAINS HIGHER ELEVATIONS COULD SEE ADVISORY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS/CONDITIONS...BUT WILL NEED TO WAIT UNTIL THE EVENT GETS CLOSER...AND LET THE MIDNIGHT SHIFT SET THE TABLE. INCREASED POPS FOR MOST LOCATIONS FOR WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. COOLED TEMPERATURES A FEW MORE DEGREES ON THURSDAY. GFS MIGHT BE HANGING ONTO TO PRECIPITATION A LITTLE TOO LONG THURSDAY AFTERNOON GIVEN CO WILL BE ON THE BACKSIDE OF THE WEATHER SYSTEM AND IN THE SYNOPTIC SCALE SUBSIDENT REGION. FRIDAY...RELATIVELY QUIET WEATHER DAY WITH MODERATING TEMPERATURES. SATURDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN CONTINUES INTO THE WEEKEND AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. ANOTHER BROAD LONGWAVE TROUGH/CLOSED LOW MOVES INTO THE WESTERN UNITED STATES DURING THE WEEKEND AND SHIFTS INTO THE NORTHERN ROCKIES/NORTHERN PLAINS. MOST OF THE MEDIUM RANGE MODEL DATA ARE SUGGESTING THIS PATTERN. CONCEPTUALLY...PRECIPITATION CHANCES WILL BE FAIRLY LOW TO NIL. BREEZY/WINDY CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH AT OR ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS COULD REDEVELOP ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS DURING THE WEEKEND INTO EARLY NEXT WEEK. METZE && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED AT TAF SITES TONIGHT WITH INCREASING CLOUDS AND PRECIP WEDNESDAY. SURFACE WINDS WILL BE VERY CHANGEABLE TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EAST OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS WITH A COLD FRONT SURGING SOUTH IN THE MORNING AND WORKING NORTH AS A WARM FRONT IN THE AFTERNOON. ISOLD TSTMS PSBL AFTER 18Z ALONG AND SOUTH OF ARKANSAS RIVER. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR COZ222-224>237. WINTER STORM WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY MORNING FOR COZ081-082-084. && 21/17
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PUEBLO CO 212 PM MDT TUE APR 15 2008 COZ058>089-093>099-161300- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST LAKE COUNTY ABOVE 11000 FT- LEADVILLE VICINITY/LAKE COUNTY BELOW 11000 FT- EASTERN SAWATCH MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- WESTERN CHAFFEE COUNTY BETWEEN 9000 AND 11000 FT- CENTRAL CHAFFEE COUNTY BELOW 9000 FT- WESTERN MOSQUITO RANGE/EAST CHAFFEE COUNTY ABOVE 9000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY WEST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- SAGUACHE COUNTY EAST OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE BELOW 10000 FT- LA GARITA MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY/EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS BELOW 10000 FT- EASTERN SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- DEL NORTE VICINITY/NORTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- ALAMOSA VICINITY/CENTRAL SAN LUIS VALLEY BELOW 8500 FT- SOUTHERN SAN LUIS VALLEY- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 8500 AND 11000 FT- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FEET- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 11000 FT- NORTHWESTERN FREMONT COUNTY ABOVE 8500 FT- WESTERN/CENTRAL FREMONT COUNTY BELOW 8500 FT- WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY BELOW 8500 FEET- WET MOUNTAINS BETWEEN 6300 AND 10000 FT- WET MOUNTAINS ABOVE 10000 FT- TELLER COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE ABOVE 7500 FT/PIKES PEAK BETWEEN 7500 AND 11000 FT-PIKES PEAK ABOVE 11000 FT- CANON CITY VICINITY/EASTERN FREMONT COUNTY- NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/MONUMENT RIDGE/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7500 FT- COLORADO SPRINGS VICINITY/SOUTHERN EL PASO COUNTY/RAMPART RANGE BELOW 7400 FT-PUEBLO AND VICINITY/PUEBLO COUNTY BELOW 6300 FT- WALSENBURG VICINITY/UPPER HUERFANO RIVER BASIN BELOW 7500 FT- TRINIDAD VICINITY/WESTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY BELOW 7500 FT- CROWLEY COUNTY-LA JUNTA VICINITY/OTERO COUNTY- EASTERN LAS ANIMAS COUNTY-WESTERN KIOWA COUNTY- EASTERN KIOWA COUNTY-LAS ANIMAS VICINITY/BENT COUNTY- LAMAR VICINITY/PROWERS COUNTY-SPRINGFIELD VICINITY/BACA COUNTY- 212 PM MDT TUE APR 15 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL...SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT GUSTY SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH WILL CONTINUE ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO THROUGH THIS EVENING. WIND GUSTS UP TO 40 MPH WILL BE LIKELY ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS...WITH GUSTS UP TO 45 TO 50 MPH OVER THE MOUNTAINS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE WELL ABOVE NORMAL WITH READINGS IN THE LOWER TO MID 80S ACROSS THE PLAINS...WITH 70S ACROSS THE INTERIOR VALLEYS. THIS WILL RESULT IN RELATIVE HUMIDITIES BETWEEN 5 AND 15 PERCENT. COUPLED WITH THE WINDY TO VERY WINDY CONDITIONS AND THE HIGH FIRE DANGER...WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE FAVORABLE FOR EXTREME FIRE BEHAVIOR...WITH RAPID RATES OF SPREAD POSSIBLE SHOULD ANY WILD FIRES START. TONIGHT...ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS WILL SPREAD INTO THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AFTER MIDNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY A RELATIVELY STRONG WEATHER SYSTEM IS FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH THE CENTRAL ROCKY MOUNTAINS LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON. MODERATE TO SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND PORTIONS OF ADJACENT VALLEYS AND INTERSTATE 25 CORRIDOR INTO THE SOUTHEAST COLORADO PLAINS. LATEST PROJECTIONS ARE FOR THE POSSIBILITY OF TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN EXCESS OF 8 INCHES ACROSS TELLER COUNTY...AND 6 INCHES OR MORE IN A FEW SPOTS ACROSS NORTHERN EL PASO COUNTY...BY THURSDAY MORNING. ACROSS SOUTHERN EL PASO AND PUEBLO COUNTIES...TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF A TRACE TO 3 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE...BY THURSDAY MORNING. ACROSS THE SAWATCH AND MOSQUITO MOUNTAIN RANGE...TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 4 TO 8 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE...WITH 1 TO 4 INCHES ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS...BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. ACROSS THE EASTERN SAN JUAN AND LA GARITA MOUNTAINS...TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 6 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. ACROSS THE SANGRE DE CRISTO AND WET MOUNTAINS...INCLUDING THE WET MOUNTAIN VALLEY...TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 8 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. ACROSS THE SOUTHERN FOOTHILLS INCLUDING THE RATON MESA...TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AROUND 3 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. ACROSS THE SAN LUIS VALLEY...TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS AROUND 1 INCH WILL BE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST COLORADO PLAINS...LOCAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF A TRACE TO AROUND 2 INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON. THERE IS SOME UNCERTAINTY OF THE WEATHER SYSTEMS ACTUAL TRACK AND STRENGTH...AS IT MOVES THROUGH THE CENTRAL ROCKY MOUNTAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. ANY CHANGE WITH THE WEATHER SYSTEM COULD LEAD TO MORE OR LESS SNOWFALL...AND TO WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS SEVERITY. PEOPLE PLANNING TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE COLORADO MOUNTAINS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON SHOULD MAINTAIN AN AWARENESS OF NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECASTS FOR THE LATEST WEATHER CONDITIONS. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS MAY RETURN TO THE LOWER ELEVATIONS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST COLORADO SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY GIVEN RELATIVELY DRY CONDITIONS...ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES...AND BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS WILL NOT BE NEEDED THIS AFTERNOON OR TONIGHT. METZE
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wildfire, Colorado Springs Vicinity / Southern El Paso County / Rampart Range Below 7500 Ft | 2008-04-15 | 42 | Male | Other | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, April 2008
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 96204.