Snow Drought & Wildfire

Are Low Snowpack and Wildfire Related?

As we all know, environmental conditions are as variable as the weather. Despite this, we need to be prepared for them all. This Eco Watch article entitled: California’s Dwindling Snowpack: Another Year of Drought, Floods, Wildfires and Mudslides? describes what changes in these conditions mean and what the potential impacts are to the environment (natural and built).

Of particular interest is the concept of a “Snow Drought.” This is most relevant to Aspen’s environmental context and especially in 2018 where Colorado snow pack was at 72% of normal as of March 1, 2018. To learn more view the video embedded within the above article and shown here:

The compounding risks of snow drought

With the wildfire season approaching, one of the things we would like community members and visitors to do is to simply be environmentally and “situationally aware” of the changing conditions. We would further encourage you to proactively assess and prepare your home/property for drier conditions with higher potential for wildfire. For more information go to our Wildfire Mitigation Program/Resources Toolkit.