BROOMFIELD, Colo. — State officials announced their outlook for the 2024 Colorado wildfire season on Wednesday.
Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) Director Mike Morgan said "normal" fire potential is forecasted for April to July. Morgan said southeast Colorado may see "elevated conditions" during the spring due to drought conditions.
The most recent U.S. Drought Monitor map shows that five counties butting up along the Kansas border are experiencing abnormally dry conditions. Southern and southwestern Colorado are also listed as being abnormally dry. A swath of moderate drought conditions stretches from western Mesa County, including Grand Junction, through far-western portions of Garfield and Rio Blanco counties.
Morgan said long-range forecasts for the summer months don't bode well as of now.
Weather modeling DFPC uses, Morgan said, shows below-average monsoonal moisture making its way into Colorado, which would allow warm, dry conditions to creep in and persist.
Ideally, Morgan said, monsoon rains would keep grasses and other fuels green for a longer time, which would keep a wildfire from spreading more quickly.
> Watch Wednesday's news conference
Morgan said that fighting wildfires is no longer a seasonal job done mostly during the summer, but is a year-round job now.
"Colorado has experienced large fires every month of the year," Morgan said.
Morgan said in an average year, firefighters respond to about 5,500 wildfires that char more than 200,000 acres.
“We don't have a fire season anymore, we have a fire year,” he said.
Wildfire season used to be four months long during the summer. With concern now year-round, Gov. Jared Polis says first responders will have new ways to tackle wildfires.
“Future wildfires are not a question of if. It’s just a question of when, and where, and what we are going to do about it,” Polis said.
One tool the state will use is a statewide dispatch system.
“Help our local first responders communicate quickly and effectively with shorter response time,” Polis said.
That will work in tandem with other measures Polis has already taken. He signed an executive order to allow state employees to take leave for volunteer firefighting without eating up their vacation time. Plus, there's $6.5 million for crews around the state to clean brush in high-risk areas.
It's a big job that requires a lot of people, but some of the most important work starts with prevention.
“Over 80% of fires are human-caused,” Polis said.
“We call on each and every one of you who live, work and play in Colorado to help reduce the impact of fires by being vigilant, respecting fire restrictions when they are in place, and doing your part to protect your home and properties from the threat of wildfire,” Morgan said.
The DFPC said it will release an updated wildfire outlook for the second half of 2024 in July.
Firehawk helicopter update
At Wednesday's news conference, Morgan said a Firehawk helicopter the state had bought in 2022 but has not been cleared to fight wildfires, is expected to begin testing Monday.
He said the hope is that once the chopper passes clearances, they'll train the crew and be able to begin fighting fires, if need be, by mid-May.
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