Welcome to The Weather Scene segment! Each week here on Geek Alabama, The Weather Scene will feature weather related content. Editor / publisher Nathan Young loves weather related content. And this segment will feature something about the weather every week.

There’s a fire weather designation most people have never heard of. Forecasters call it “Extremely Critical” and when it gets issued, firefighters know exactly what’s coming.

This is what happened when we drove straight into the heart of it.

Over two days across southeastern Colorado and the Texas Panhandle, we chased the most dangerous wildfire setup of the year — an extreme weather event covering an area roughly the size of England. With no single storm to target and no obvious signal on radar, we had to rely on pure instinct.

What we found was an absolute nightmare of dry air, 70mph winds, and a clock ticking down on a small town with no backup coming.

Campo, Colorado almost didn’t make it.
Amarillo wasn’t as lucky with the Stinky Fire.

This is the story of the days firefighters fear most and what it looks like from the inside as states like California and Colorado brace for a bad fire season.

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