Started about two weeks earlier by then-undefined human activity, the “Willow Fire” continued to burn through the San Isabel National Forest and nearby Mt. Massive Wilderness Area at the time of this wide-angle shot in mid-July, and into the following month. Mt. Massive, Colorado’s second highest peak, is seen at left through smoke. Here, wind blew from the NNE, advecting smoke and embers across the foothills from the main fire area at lower right, setting spot fires whose smoke plumes can be seen at lower left. Wildfires don’t necessarily spread continuously, of course. They can (and often do) discretely propagate by wafting embers downwind for new ignitions that may merge with the original burning area. Fortunately, on this day, the smoke wasn’t blowing into Leadville and toward Idaho Springs, where we were traveling for lunch. This was an unplanned “fire chase” for a tour I was leading, at a safe distance and viewing angle, along the way from Buena Vista up the uppermost Arkansas River Valley. We saw no aerial suppression activity on this day, and very little (if any) on the ground, likely because it was not a direct threat to inhabited areas at this stage.
3 WSW Leadville CO (14 Jul 26) Looking W
39.3329, -106.3505