CENTENNIAL, Colo.-
State wildfire crews are bracing for “a very active fire season” because of significant forest damage from pine beetles and a forecast calling for a hot, dry summer, Gov. Bill Ritter said Thursday.
Ritter also said heavy spring snow and rain could produce a thick growth of vegetation that will dry out in the summer heat and fuel wildfires.
“The warning signs are there,” he said at the annual governor’s fire briefing with state and federal officials.
Ritter said wildfire specialists are especially concerned about areas west of the Continental Divide because of drought conditions.
He said Coloradans are grateful for the spring moisture, “but we are also aware that there are abundant fuels and predicted weather that could make for a very active fire season.”
The beetle epidemic in Colorado and across the West has killed millions of trees, raising fears the dry, dead trunks will mean more and faster-spreading wildfires.
A study released late last year by university researchers in Colorado and Idaho suggested the opposite might be true, however. The study said beetles may reduce wildfire risk by naturally thinning forests.
Ritter said he is concerned because the federal government has cut an estimated $4.3 million that could have been used for forest management in Colorado to help minimize wildfires.
“It’s not about fighting fires, it’s about managing vegetation on Forest Service land,” Ritter said.
Colorado’s nine-member congressional delegation on Monday asked Forest Service Chief Gail Kimbell to restore the cuts.
Larry Helmerick of the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center said even if the state has an average year, wildfires would char 40,000 to 60,000 acres.
“We could have an average fire season, but we’re still talking about large wildfires,” he said.
At Thursday’s briefing, Ritter reviewed Colorado’s wildfire plan, authorized by legislation passed in 2006 and implemented with $3.25 million Ritter authorized to fund wildfire suppression efforts around the state.
That will provide three single-engine air tankers under contract during the fire season. The tankers will be used for first strikes and be positioned around the state wherever fire danger is highest.
It will also provide 10 fire engines positioned throughout the so-called red zones, the wildland-urban interface areas where dwellings are vulnerable.
