Residents in the Waldo Canyon Burn Scar area still recovering 6 years after the blaze scorched more than 18,000 acres west of Colorado Springs. That blaze also destroyed more than 300 structures in the area including homes and business. The good news is experts are breathing a little bit easier when it comes to flooding concerns around the Waldo Canyon Burn Scar.
The fire happened in 2012, so the land has had several years of regrowth allowing plenty of plants and trees to come back in. The National Weather Service tells us the Waldo Canyon Burn scar is already starting to act like the area around it, but this burn scar is unique.
What sets it apart is the amount of mitigation done.
Thanks to work by the City and homeowners, the burn scar has seen more mitigation than most areas can boast. The National Weather Service says there just isn't those kind of resources for burn scars located farther out.
Storms still gather over the scar, but there needs to be an inch and a half of rain in an hour for experts to get worried and even that amount of moisture might not mean much.
"We have had events, like the past Saturday, where it's been more than that with really not much of an impact," explained Warning Coordination Meteorologist for the National Weather Service Greg Heavener, "so it's still there, but we can rest a little easier because it's not as under the gun."
Of course the experts still keep a close eye on the area because of its history, but they don't lose as much sleep over it.
The areas that are the big concern are the Spring Fire, the Junkins Fire and Hayden Pass Fire burn scars.
