Forest Service Will Close Research Stations That Study Wildfire Risk

Good article on the USFS Research Office closures.

www.nytimes.com/2026/04/03/c...

The heat signature of the Artemis II rocket could be seen as it launched through Earth's atmosphere.

BREAKING: Trump Administration Orders Dismantling of the U.S. Forest Service The headquarters is going to Utah. Every regional office is being shuttered. The research program is being destroyed.

All regional offices shuttered.
All research facilities, and ongoing local studies, gone.
HQ moved to the backyard of the most anti-public-lands politicians, knowing career personnel won’t follow.
-> Decimate the agency
-> Sell off our public lands
-> A few people fill their pockets at our expense.

Artemis II is headed for the moon!

GOES-19 caught this amazing view of the exhaust plume from the rocket as it launched from Cape Canaveral.

Awesome view of @NASAArtemis II, as viewed from NOAA weather satellite. Note the dark (warmer) dot launching off from Cape Canaveral and off to the northeast! #flwx #artemis

‘On a whole other level’: rapid snow melt-off in American west stuns scientists Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory

The Western US at the FO stage of FAFO... 😬

"‘On a whole other level’: rapid snow melt-off in American west stuns scientists.

Experts say brutal March heat has left critical snowpack at record-low levels – and key basins in uncharted territory."

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

US Forest Service to move headquarters from Washington DC to Salt Lake City Announcement part of controversial shakeup described by critics as administration attack on ‘science and scientists’

We’re gearing up to potentially have one of the most devastating wildfire seasons ever, & we’re now reorganizing the 2 largest land management agencies in the country. On top DOGE cuts decimating USFS last year, and further tearing apart USFS Research which is already extremely limited. 😖

Over and over the message this administration sends to federal employees is "Break the law, and so long as you're doing it to support our political causes, we'll let it slide."

It is a recipe for corruption and impunity. Discipline has to mean something.

Most days, humanity’s outlook seems bleak, but stories like this give me hope for a future where technology is used to benefit society harmoniously with our environment, rather than exploiting the planet & its people for profits.

Is it naive? Absolutely.
Is it worth striving for? Absolutely.

It’s too late.

An image of a list of the 27 grievances against King George III in the Declaration of Independence. Donald Trump's regime has committed at least 20 of them in whole or in part, condensed into the list below: 1. He has refused his Assent to Laws, the most wholesome and necessary for the public good. 2. He has refused to pass other Laws for the accommodation of large districts of people, unless those people would relinquish the right of representation … 3. He has dissolved Representative Houses repeatedly, for opposing … his invasions on the rights of the people. 4. He has endeavoured to prevent the population of these States; … obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners … 5. He has obstructed the Administration of Justice … 6. He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices … 7. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance. 8. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. 9. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. 10. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution … giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: 11. For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: 12. For protecting them … from punishment for any Murders which they should commit … 13. For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: 14. For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: 15. For depriving us … of the benefits of Trial by Jury: 16. For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences: 17. For … abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: 18. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us. 19. He has … destroyed the lives of our people. 20. He has excited domestic insurrections amongst us …

The Declaration of Independence specifies 27 grievances with King George III and Britain.

Donald Trump and his regime have committed at least 20 of those same offenses highlighted in yellow.

#NoKings

Snowpack in Colorado is dismal... Snowpack in Colorado has already been low this season but an early spring heat wave has just worsened conditions.

Happy to share that I am writing in my off time again!

Hmmm, no way putting a controversial name on something that inherently circulates around a community could be detrimental.
Banks will have to take these out of circulation en masse when these notes are vandalized.

Remember this when it’s said there’s no money for things that would help the working class

*Cue: “Are we the baddies?” Meme,
Followed by the “Always Have Been” meme.

Truly a heat wave of historic proportions. We'll be able to clearly identify the outliers of 🌡️ extreme temperatures & resulting ❄️ snowpack levels caused from this for decades.

This complex line graph illustrates daily maximum temperatures in degrees Celsius for the Southwestern United States throughout the calendar year. 2026 Data (Red Line): As of March 19, 2026, temperatures have fluctuated significantly, often staying above the historical average. A notable spike occurs in mid-to-late March, reaching approximately 26°C. Historical Context (Black Lines): Multiple thin black lines represent individual years from 1979 to 2025, showing a broad range of historical variability. Historical Average (Green Line): A smooth green curve shows the mean temperature rising from roughly 7.5°C in January to a peak of 27.5°C in late July/early August, then descending back to 7.5°C by December. Inset Map: A grayscale globe features a red rectangular highlight over the Southwestern United States. Latest Data Point: The red line ends on March 19, 2026, marked with a dark red circular point.

The aggregate Daily Maximum Temperatures—going back to 1979—across a swath of the Southwest (incl., CA, NV, UT, CO, AZ, & NM) shows an extreme outlier in mid-to-late March of ≅26°C.
This obliterates the highest values observed in March (by ≅5°C), but also tops any value seen through EARLY MAY!
#cowx

Appreciate it, Noah!
Likewise!

I did, 😭
But it’s so dry the tears didn’t make it past the cheekbones.

That's mind-blowing!

Very fair!
I guessed these were specificly ASOS sites, & that was the delineation fo rwhat was included.
Am I close? Or was this a subjective selection?

Higher ERCs
= 📈 Wildfire Intensity
= 📈 Extreme Fire Behavior (e.g., torching, spotting, pyroCb)
→ Potentially Catastrophic Wildfire Season

And it's not just happening in Colorado. Sub-10th percentile snowpacks being seen all across the Intermountain West.

Get ready for an insane 🔥 year.
🧵 9/9

Given this additional drying period:

• Energy release components (ERC—measure of fuel combustion potential) are setting daily maximums across CO & the West.

• The High Plains are seeing ERC levels in the 90th+ annual percentiles, w/ 2 wildfires already dwarfing 2025's largest wildfire.

🧵 8/9

What's this mean for 🔥 season?

• Fuels in the CO Mnts ⛰️ are already stressed: Severe (D2)–Exceptional (D4) drought

• Earlier snowmelt means fuels/soils will dry out 2 months earlier than usual

• 2 mths of additional drying will extend curing windows by 150-200% headed into summer

🧵 7/9 #cofire

In other words:

Our snowpack (& water reserve) is plummeting alarmingly quickly 🚨 and is nearly depleted, almost 2 wks before our typical seasonal peak.
We're over 4 wks ahead of the EARLIEST snowmelt (avg SWE < 5") EVER recorded in the last 40 yrs, & 2 mths ahead of CO's median year.

🧵 6/9 #cowx

The REAL insanity is how early these levels are occurring:

• Mean SWE on March 26th was 4.9"

• Through the period of record going back to 1987, the earliest we’ve ever recorded levels this low was APRIL 24TH

• The date these levels are typically observed is MAY 26TH

🧵 5/9 #cowx

Now onto CO's snowpack:🏔️

• In CO's snowiest month, snow water equivalents (SWE) are plummeting → 40% loss over the last 10 days

• Yesterday's averaged SWE across 115 CO sites was 34% of median levels

• We're still 12 days away f/ April 8th → CO's median snowpack peak date

🧵 4/9 #cowx

Ft. Collins alone:

• Topped their March all-time max temp record by 10℉ 🔥

• Saw 43 days with highs ≥60℉ from Dec–Feb (prev record: 22) 📊

• Reached 91℉ on March 21st, the earliest occurrence of ≥90℉ observed temperature🌡️ on record—previous record: May 5th; average date: June 15th

🧵 3/9

First, let's touch on the record-obliterating temps🌡️ across Colorado:

• 12 locations across CO broke March all-time temperature records by ≥ 5℉

• The warmest start to a water year; >2℉ hotter than the previous warmest Oct–Feb time period on record

via: @climate.colostate.edu
🧵 2/9 #cowx