A temporary radar system was installed last week north of Durango to help track storms that might cause flooding from the 416 Fire burn scar.
The system is the same equipment that was brought in and placed atop Missionary Ridge last year a few months after the fire when floods hit homes around Hermosa.
“As we experienced last year, having that radar on Missionary Ridge gave us a vantage point to see those storms moving into the 416 area,” said Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata County’s Office of Emergency Management. “It’s vitally important to us.”
The Four Corners has long been known as a blind spot when it comes to weather and radar modeling, as major hubs in Albuquerque, Grand Junction and Flagstaff, Arizona, take in data at elevations too high to accurately hone in on areas around Durango.