What a change from two nights ago! Rather than the 30-degree temperatures that kept me from even opening the bedroom windows, a warm wind blew. The Aspen leaves weren’t just quaking gently, the whole tree vibrated from the swirling winds. Descending down Hurricane Hill, white caps much like a small mountain ocean swept across the top of the water at Barker Reservoir.
Driving down the 2-lane road, I fought the steering wheel on my Subaru. First the car was swept one way, then I felt buffeted the other way. Yep, another windy Nederland day. But unlike the typical blustery, windy days we get commonly during the winter, this windy day brought warm Chinook winds down the divide into Nederland. And warm Chinook winds in September mean Red Flag weather.
I was not comforted by this thought. Red Flag Warnings are issued by the National Weather Service as a warning that conditions are ideal for wildfires to start. It was even less comforting given that just a few days ago, Boulder County had removed the fire ban that had been in place around Nederland ever since the Cold Springs Fire.
It’s hard not to feel on edge since the fire that forced our evacuation and burned neighbor’s home down. It’s hard to be driving back the other night from a hike in the National Forest and see the glowing flames and embers of campers sitting around a campfire. After such a dry summer, I’ve been counting the days until Fall officially begins, counting the days until colder weather, counting the days until the first snow falls. I’ve been thinking if we can just make it through to October, to that first good snow, we might be ok.
So despite the blueness of the sky, the gold of the leaves and the balmy temperatures, I still felt a bit wary, feeling those warm winds blowing. Let’s hope next week brings back some cold and rain. (With apologies to all those tourists!).
