Colorado will face a ‘very challenging' wildfire season as drought covers entire state, fire leaders say

DENVER - Colorado's dry winter and abnormally warm spring will translate to high risk for a difficult fire season, state leaders warned Thursday.

"We are facing a very challenging fire year where our resources will be tested, across not only Colorado but across the West," said Mike Morgan, the director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, at a news conference announcing the annual outlook.

The Front Range and northwestern Colorado face the highest risk of fire through June and July, Gov. Jared Polis said.

But every corner of the state will be vulnerable.

Drought covered all of Colorado as of Tuesday, according to data released Thursday by the U.S. Drought Monitor. Much of the northwest corner of the state was categorized as exceptional drought - the most severe category used by the monitor. The Denver metro was in extreme drought, the second-most severe category.

At this time last year, only 44% of the state was in drought, and none of that drought was classified as exceptional.

"We haven't had enough rain and we haven't had enough snow - and it's going to be a challenging year for us," Morgan said.

The precipitation that fell across the Front Range and central mountains in recent days will do little to reverse months of warm, dry weather, Polis said.

Between 6,000 and 7,000 wildfires spark in Colorado during an average fire year, and fire crews contain the vast majority of them before they become large and destructive, Morgan said. About 90% of those fires are caused unintentionally by people, he said.

Polis and other state leaders urged Coloradans to minimize the risks of starting a fire and harden their properties so they'll be less susceptible to flames.

"Each Coloradan needs to step up and take responsibility - as well as the many entities that are focused on this," Polis said.

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