A new national fire outlook says the next few months could be rough across much of the West, including parts of Colorado. Fire activity has already picked up across the country this year, with more than 1.6 million acres burned so far. That’s well above average.
One big reason is the weather. March was hot and dry across much of the West, and snowpack is far below normal in many places. In some river basins in the Four Corners, including the Lower San Juan Basin, snow has already melted out much earlier than usual. That means less water soaking into the landscape as we head into spring and early summer.
For Colorado, the outlook shows fire danger staying elevated on the plains this month, then increasing on the West Slope and Front Range by June and into July as heat and drought-stressed fuels build. The report says early monsoon moisture could help later on, but there’s still a lot of uncertainty there.
The bottom line is this: after a warm winter and low snow year, our landscape may dry out faster than normal, so this is a good time to start thinking ahead about fire season.
