Wildfire in Colorado, October 9, 2010

Name: Wildfire in Colorado, October 9, 2010
Start: 2010-10-09T12:00
End: 2010-10-09T15:00
Location: Colorado

October 9, 2010 · NWS GJT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Gusty winds resulted in a controlled burn to become a wildfire.

Where it happened

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.

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Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 1
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Events: 1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS GJT wrote it up.

Gusty winds resulted in a controlled burn to become a wildfire.

What forecasters said that day

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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 8, 1:30 PM MST, 22 hours 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 8, 1:30 PM MST, 22 hours 30 minutes before

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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.

Wildfire, Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas Divide

When: October 9, 12:00 PM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where: Uncompahgre Plateau and Dallas Divide forecast zone
Injuries: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: $20,000
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 38.488, -108.155 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A controlled burn at a farm became a wildfire when breezy winds developed and blew embers beyond the planned burn area. A 100 foot by 50 foot area of baled hay burned up, and a number of vehicles and farm implements were destroyed. Winds gusts in the west-central valleys of Colorado were measured at 20 to 25 mph. A firefighter incurred minor injuries.

What these are

Wildfire: A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Colorado in 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Colorado, October 2010

Sources

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 270763.