(单词翻译:单击)
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It is rare to see a big, winter fire in Colorado like the one that burned 24 square kilometers of land and homes outside the city of Denver last week.
上周，科罗拉多州丹佛市外24平方公里的土地和房屋被烧毁，这样的冬季大火在该州实属罕见。
Usually, the ground is covered with snow in December.
通常，在12月，地面会被雪覆盖。
However, scientists say a long, dry period in the state helped the fire move quickly.
然而，科学家们表示，该州长期的干旱助长了火势迅速蔓延。
Some say winter fires will become more common because of a changing climate.
一些科学家表示，由于气候变化，冬季火灾将会变得更加常见。
The fire is being called the Marshall fire because it started near Marshall Road near Boulder, Colorado.
这场大火之所以被称为“马歇尔”大火，是因为它始于科罗拉多州博尔德市附近的马歇尔路附近。
Local newspapers say, as of Sunday, two people were missing and seven were injured.
当地报纸称，截至周日，有2人失踪，7人受伤。
Nearly 1,000 homes burned and over 100 were damaged.
近1000座房屋被烧毁，100多座房屋受损。
The fires are becoming more dangerous as homes are built in areas that once were farms or rural areas.
由于房屋建在曾经的农场或农村地区，火灾变得越来越危险。
Jonathan Overpeck is a professor who studies the environment at the University of Michigan.
乔纳森·奥弗派克是密歇根大学的一位研究环境的教授。
He said winter fires like the Marshall fire are not common.
他说，像“马歇尔”大火这样的冬季火灾并不常见。
He said "things are going to … get worse unless we stop climate change."
他说，“除非我们阻止气候变化，否则情况会变得更糟。”
Tens of thousands of people were told to leave the area northwest of Denver when the fire spread quickly last Thursday.
上周四大火迅速蔓延时，数万人被告知离开丹佛市的西北部地区。
Strong winds of over 160 kilometers per hour pushed the flames.
时速超过160公里的强风推动了大火的蔓延。
Susy Pringle lives in the area.
苏西·普林格尔住在这个地区。
She said she was in a food store, walked out, and had to get in her car and "make a dash" for her life as the smoke and flames came close.
她说，当时她在一家食品店里，走出来后，当烟雾和火焰逼近时，她不得不钻进自己的车里，“拼命”逃命。
Keith Musselman studies snow and water in nearby Boulder, Colorado.
基思·马塞尔曼研究科罗拉多州博尔德市附近的雪和水。
He said if snow had been on the ground, as it often is in December, the fire would not have spread.
他说，如果地面上有雪，正如往年的12月一样，大火就不会蔓延。
Jennifer Balch is a fire scientist at the University of Colorado in Boulder.
詹妮弗·鲍尔奇是科罗拉多大学博尔德分校的火灾科学家。
She said the dry ground, warm weather, an ignition source, and the strong wind created "a disaster."
她说，干燥的地面、温暖的天气、引火源和强风造成了“一场灾难”。
Balch said a wet spring caused wild grass to grow tall, while the dry summer and autumn made it burn easily.
鲍尔奇说，潮湿的春季使野草长得很高，而干燥的夏季和秋季则使野草容易燃烧。
She added that the time for fire danger in Colorado is now longer than in the past because of climate change.
她还说，由于气候变化，现在科罗拉多州发生火灾危险的时间比过去更长。
In addition, the area northwest of Denver has many more homes today than in the past.
此外，丹佛市西北部地区现在的房屋数量比过去多得多。
Thousands of new houses have been built since the 1990s in the area from Denver to Fort Collins, a distance of about 100 kilometers.
自20世纪90年代以来，从丹佛到柯林斯堡的约100公里范围内的地区新建了数千座房屋。
Balch said the homes can catch on fire and people can get hurt more easily.
鲍尔奇说，房屋可能会着火，人们更容易受伤。
In her explanation, Balch said that there are many more people in the area than before.
鲍尔奇解释说，该地区的人口比以前多得多。
A recent study by the University of Colorado showed that 97 percent of wildfires were started by people.
科罗拉多大学最近的一项研究表明，97%的野火是由人引发的。
She said people need to start thinking about how their daily activities can start a fire.
她说，人们需要开始思考他们的日常活动是如何引发火灾的。
And now that people are living in areas that used to be rural, she said, big fires like the Marshall fire are going to be more common.
她说，现在人们生活在曾经的农村地区，像“马歇尔”大火这样的大火将会更加常见。
"It's just a matter of time before we have whole towns burning down like we had in California and events like this in Colorado."
“整个城镇被烧毁只是时间问题，就像在加利福尼亚州发生的火灾一样，以及像在科罗拉多州发生的火灾一样。”
I'm Jill Robbins.
吉尔·罗宾斯为您播报。
译文为可可英语翻译，未经授权请勿转载！
