Downpours to aid firefighting efforts on Badger Creek Fire as evacuations, road closures continue

Firefighters battling the Badger Creek Fire near the Colorado-Wyoming border will get some help from Mother Nature this weekend.

Since igniting on Sunday, June 10, the blaze has charred over 19,000 acres.

Strong winds and dry, hot conditions fanned the flames this week. However, damp weather on Saturday helped firefighters get containment up to 28 percent.

A portion of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest remains closed “to ensure the protection of the public and fire personnel during operations for the Badger Creek Fire,” according to the United States Forest Service.

A handful of small communities that are in the path of the blaze have been evacuated.

Sections of Highway 127 in Colorado and highways 10 and 230 in Wyoming are closed.

Fortunately, cloudy, rainy and cooler weather will stick around into Monday morning, helping crews to slow the fire’s progress and gain the upper hand.

Tropical moisture, along with a non-tropical system over the northern Plains, will work to enhance rainfall over the scorched area.

The steadiest rain is likely to fall into Sunday night.

While the downpours may be accompanied by thunder, lightning and locally gusty winds, enough rain is expected to fall to help mitigate the risk of lightning sparking new fires and wind spreading the flames further.

However, the needed rainfall may come at the risk of flash flooding, especially where vegetation has been scorched by the fire which will cause excessive runoff.

Temperatures will be trimmed significantly thanks to the damper pattern, with highs expected to be in the upper 50s and lower 60s F on Sunday, around 10-15 degrees Fahrenheit below average.

This, combined with the rainfall, will work in the firefighters' favor.

Conditions will remain cooler than average, generally in the 60s F, for the early part of the new week as a more typical June weather pattern resumes with daily afternoon showers and thunderstorms.

Winds could pick up on Monday afternoon, which could lead to firefighting challenges.

Outside of the Badger Creek Fire, downpours have also helped firefighters gain ground on the 416 Fire burning in southwestern Colorado.

Crews have gained control of a majority of the blazes burning in Arizona and New Mexico.

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