File:Snow in the Rockies (MODIS 2020-11-01).jpg

English: On October 29, 2020, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on board NASA’s Aqua satellite acquired a true-color image of snow across the Rocky Mountains. The image includes Wyoming (north) and Colorado (south), while part of Utah – including the Great Salt Lake – can be seen in the west.

A winter storm swept across the region from October 22 to October 29, starting in the Cascades in Washington State on October 22. By October 25, more than a foot of fresh snow coated the mountains of Wyoming and Colorado. The snow was particularly welcome in Colorado’s Grand, Jackson and Larimer Counties, where the moisture helped dampen two of the largest wildfires in Colorado history – the Cameron Fire and the East Troublesome Fire.

According to the “East Troublesome Fire in Grand and Jackson County, Colorado, USA” Facebook page, Incident Commander Rob Allen shared the impact of the snow during a community meeting. He was quoted as saying “Right now the slowly melting snow is doing the work for us as we prepare to take whatever action is needed to eliminate the threat to town and the values at risk”. The town in question was Estes Park, which was widely evacuated on October 22. After the heavy snowfall October 24-25, many residents were permitted to begin to return to their homes. According to Inciweb Incident Information System, as of October 30 clear skies and warming temperatures had melted the snow on most southern aspects, exposing previously snow-covered ground. This is likely to allow isolated pockets of fuels to begin to smolder and increase smoke in the region. No additional snow is forecast for Estes Park until November 9.