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(SAN FRANCISCO) Drought conditions in the West are so severe that officials are worried about the potential of a fire season even more dangerous than the last.
In Colorado, higher temperatures and lower precipitation after a winter with less-than-normal snowfall has made the land similar to a tinderbox should a flame spark a wildfire, officials from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control told reporters in a press conference Thursday.
“Historically, wildfire seasons were a four-month event in the middle of summer. Today, the average core wildfire season is 78 days longer than in the 1970’s, with Colorado experiencing large fires every month of the year.” - @COStateFire Director Mike Morgan #cofirepic.twitter.com/HMvBN05YDq
High wildfire danger forecasted for Colorado
The governor and state fire prevention leaders met today to discuss colorado s fire forecast. And plans to prevent massive fires like the ones that have hit colorado in recent years
and last updated 2021-04-08 21:12:11-04
COLORADO â It is going to be another summer with higher than normal risk for wildfires in Colorado. âA seemingly minor act can cause great devastation in our state,â said Colorado Governor Jared Polis. The Governor and state fire prevention leaders met Thursday to discuss Colorado s fire forecast and plans to prevent more massive fires like the ones that have scorched Colorado in recent years.
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A man watches and takes photos of the Grizzly Creek Fire as it blows up in No Name Canyon on the afternoon of Aug. 11, 2020. The fire initially started on Interstate 70 on Aug. 10.
Chelsea Self / Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Colorado homeowners who live where forests abut civilization like most of the Roaring Fork Valley are being urged by state and local public safety officials to buckle up for another potentially active fire season.
Warm temperatures, low humidity and high winds have already ramped up the fire danger.
“After last week, we’re in fire season now,” said Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Chief Scott Thompson.
This year unfortunately is looking like it could be similar to 2020 when it comes to the wildfire threat in much of Colorado, but officials say the state has improved its readiness to respond, particularly when it comes to the goal of extinguishing fires in their infancy.
The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control said in its annual Wildfire Preparedness Plan, released Thursday, that anticipated above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation through July âare expected to result in drought intensification and earlier than average spring snowpack runoff, leading to above normal large fire potential across southern Colorado starting in the second half of May, expanding northward through the month of June, and affecting the majority of the Western Slope by July.â