DENVER – At least one National Forest in Colorado is warning that this year’s fire season could be up there with the worst to hit the state if conditions don’t change soon.
The U.S. Forest Service for the Pike and San Isabel National Forests and Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands, which cover central Colorado and a part of Kansas, sent a warning Wednesday about the fire-prone conditions.
The Forest Service says current conditions “are comparable to our busiest fire seasons,” and that the fire danger will jump to the high-very high range “within a week or two” if the area doesn’t get any measurable precipitation.
It says about half of the wildfires within the forests and grasslands in its district over the past 10 years have been caused by “careless human acts,” and urges people to check fire conditions and restrictions ahead of any visits or camping trips.
About 90 percent of Colorado is currently experiencing abnormally dry conditions, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, and nearly half the state is experiencing severe drought.
A wildfire burned in Boulder County Wednesday – just one of a host of fires to hit Colorado in the past two weeks in what is often Colorado’s snowiest month.
