The Spring Creek wildfire began on June 27 around 3:57 PM 5 miles northeast of Ft Garland, CO in Costilla County, and would eventually spread into Huerfano County as well. The fire was ignited and spread through dry fuels in dry and windy weather.
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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.
The Spring Creek wildfire began on June 27 around 3:57 PM 5 miles northeast of Ft Garland, CO in Costilla County, and would eventually spread into Huerfano County as well. The fire was ignited and spread through dry fuels in dry and windy weather. The fire was human caused, and the suspect was arrested. By the end of July, the fire had burned 108,045 acres, the third largest wildfire in Colorado recorded history. The fire was 91% contained, but was no longer growing and had been removed from InciWeb. The Spring Creek Wildfire destroyed at least 225 structures, 145 of which were homes, and cost an estimated $32M. The fire forced the evacuation of multiple communities and caused multiple highway closures. No causalities were reported. At it's peak, over 1,000 people were working on the fire.
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 Jun 27, 2:27 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Pueblo CO 327 PM MDT Wed Jun 27 2018 .SHORT TERM...(This evening through Thursday) Issued at 326 PM MDT Wed Jun 27 2018 ...HOT AGAIN TOMORROW WITH MARGINAL RED FLAG CONDITIONS... Currently... HOT temperatures were occurring across the region at 2 pm. Temps were in the 100-106 range across the lower ark rvr valleys from Canon City to the KS border. Upper 90s were occurring on the divides while temps were in the 90s in the valleys. Leadville was in the mid 70s and even Pikes Peak was 55F (at 14,114 feet). A lee trough was noted over the plains and some very high based convection, as observed by sat pix and radar, was trying to initiate from just sw of Lamar back towards Kim. A weak cool front was over NE CO as temps over NE CO were only in the upper 80s to lower 90s. Rest of today into tonight... Very little change in the immediate short term. I do not expect the convection along the lee trough to amount too much, maybe some brief gusty winds but that should be the most of it. A very weak cool front was on top of the Palmer Divide at 2 pm will drop south by early evening and winds should shift to a northerly component for a brief time over the greater COS area this evening. I dont anticipate any cooling with this boundary and no precip is anticipated along the I-25 corridor. Min temps tonight will be warm with readings in the 60s to L70s across the plains. With it being so dry, we will likely see very favorable radiational cooling and we could see temps fall into the 40s in the valleys tonight, as we have seen in the last couple of nights. Tomorrow... Winds will be a bit breezier tomorrow and marginal red flag conditions will occur most areas. Areas that will see the least winds are Pueblo and parts of Otero and Crowley counties, while the remainder of the region will see winds gusts to 20 to 30 mph. The winds across the plains may not start to crank up until mid to late afternoon. With the breezy winds, hot temps and single digit min RH values, have issued a RED FLAG warning for most of the region for tomorrow afternoon. No significant precip is anticipated tomorrow although an brief isold --tsra could occur over the highest peaks and possibly far eastern plain late tomorrow afternoon. Main wx story tomorrow will be the continued HOT temps with readings similar to today. The only difference is that it will be a breezy tomorrow most locations. Stay Cool! Hodanish .LONG TERM...(Thursday night through Wednesday) Issued at 326 PM MDT Wed Jun 27 2018 Thursday night and Friday...The upper ridge of high pressure will continue to slowly slide east through Fri, while a trough of low pressure over the west deepens. Very hot and dry conditions will continue, and as the upper low gradually moves east across the Great Basin on Fri, the tightening pressure gradient over the region will increase winds. Fri will likely be another day of critical fire weather conditions, but felt that whatever happens Thu will then dictate what needs to be done on Fri. Therefore, did not issue any sort of highlight at this time. Look for very isolated convection across the eastern plains Fri eve, otherwise the heat continues with highs in the mid 80s to lower 90s for the high valleys, and mid 90s to lower 100s for the plains. Saturday and Sunday...The upper trough swings east across the Rockies Sat and Sun, and actually the cold front is forecast to drop south across the Palmer Divide very early Sat morning. This will offer some cooling as well as a slight rise in humidity levels, as well as an uptick in convection chances for the eastern mts and plains. Winds will be on the increase for Sat as the front pushes south, but feel that the increase in moisture will keep the area just out of critical fire weather conditions. expect highs both days in the 80s for the high valleys, and 80s to lower 90s for the plains. Monday through Wednesday...Longwave trough over the western US, and a high pressure ridge centered over the eastern US, will keep Colorado under southwest flow aloft. Isolated convection will be possible over the higher terrain each aftn and eve, as well as along the CO/KS border with the fluctuating dryline. It will heat up again as well, with highs in the 80s for the high valleys and 90s for the plains. Moore && .AVIATION...(For the 00Z TAFS through 00Z Thursday evening) Issued at 326 PM MDT Wed Jun 27 2018 VFR conditions are anticipated during the next 24 hours at all 3 taf sites, KPUX, KALS and KCOS. Winds will be light tonight and into tomorrow, with southerly breezy conditions developing by afternoon. && .PUB WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning from noon to 9 PM MDT Thursday for COZ220>224- 226-227-229-230-233>236. && SHORT TERM...HODANISH LONG TERM...MOORE AVIATION...HODANISH
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Pueblo CO 1156 AM MDT Wed Jun 27 2018 COZ058>089-093>099-281800- Western Mosquito Range/East Lake County Above 11000 Feet- Leadville Vicinity/Lake County Below 11000 Feet- Eastern Sawatch Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Western Chaffee County Between 9000 and 11000 Feet- Central Chaffee County Below 9000 Feet- Western Mosquito Range/East Chaffee County Above 9000 Feet- Saguache County West of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet- Saguache County East of Continental Divide Below 10000 Feet- La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Upper Rio Grande Valley/Eastern San Juan Mountains Below 10000 Feet-Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Del Norte Vicinity/Northern San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet- Alamosa Vicinity/Central San Luis Valley Below 8500 Feet- Southern San Luis Valley- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 8500 And 11000 Feet- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 and 11000 Feet- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Feet- Northwestern Fremont County Above 8500 Feet- Western/Central Fremont County Below 8500 Feet- Wet Mountain Valley Below 8500 Feet- Wet Mountains between 6300 and 10000 Feet- Wet Mountains Above 10000 Feet- Teller County/Rampart Range Above 7500 Feet/Pikes Peak Between 7500 And 11000 Feet-Pikes Peak Above 11000 Feet- Canon City Vicinity/Eastern Fremont County- Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge/Rampart Range Below 7500 Feet- Colorado Springs Vicinity/Southern El Paso County/Rampart Range Below 7400 Feet-Pueblo Vicinity/Pueblo County Below 6300 Feet- Walsenburg Vicinity/Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Feet- Trinidad Vicinity/Western Las Animas County Below 7500 Feet- 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- 1156 AM MDT Wed Jun 27 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of central...east central...south central and southeast Colorado. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight Isolated thunderstorms will be possible this afternoon and evening over some of the mountain areas, and over the Palmer Divide. If storms develop, the main threats will be lightning and gusty outflow winds. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday Fire danger will be on the increase Thursday, as winds are expected to increase through the afternoon and evening hours. The increased winds, combined with continued hot and dry conditions, will lead to the development of critical fire weather conditions Thursday afternoon, especially over and near the higher terrain. Critical fire weather conditions will remain possible Friday and Saturday, especially over western portions of the area. Isolated high based afternoon thunderstorms will be possible Thursday and Friday, with the main storm threats being lightning and gusty outflow winds. There will be better chances of afternoon and evening storms, and wetting rains, across the Southeast Mountains and Plains later Saturday. The daily chances of storms will continue across Eastern Colorado through Tuesday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Weather spotters will not be needed this afternoon or tonight. Hodanish
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Pueblo CO
456 PM MDT WED JUN 27 2018
COZ095-096-272330-
Western Kiowa County CO-Eastern Kiowa County CO-
456 PM MDT WED JUN 27 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL KIOWA COUNTY UNTIL 530 PM
MDT...
At 455 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a high based thunderstorm
over Eads, or 27 miles north of Lamar, moving east at 10 mph.
Wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible with this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Eads and Chivington.
LAT...LON 3836 10281 3854 10285 3861 10259 3861 10253
3836 10247
TIME...MOT...LOC 2255Z 259DEG 7KT 3847 10274
KTThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Colorado in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Colorado, June 2018
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: 765960.