A flurry of small wildfires erupted across Colorado on Friday as hot, dry temperatures persisted across the state.
Berthoud and Loveland firefighters knocked down a 50-acre wildfire near Carter Lake on Friday afternoon.
The fire threatened two homes, but neither was burned and no evacuations were necessary, said Eloise Campanella, spokeswoman for the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.
Temperatures in the metro region reached the mid-90s on the Fourth of July.
July is typically dry in Colorado, and this comes after June provided less than an inch of rain at Denver International Airport.
Scattered showers across some parts of the metro area during the month provided little relief, after April and May also were among the driest on record for the region.
The region’s hope to bounce out of a dry spell would defy history: Last year, less than an inch of rain fell on the Denver area during the first three weeks of July.
Statistically, July has the most consecutive 90-degree days. The record is 18 straight days above 90 set in 1901, followed by 17 in 2000, according to the National Weather Service.
The hottest July on record was in 2005, with six days that had highs above 100 degrees.
The average July temperature for the metro area is 76.3 degrees.
The conditions are ripe for fires, authorities have warned.
A 6-acre blaze jumped a fence and scorched the side of a home near South Broadway and East Highlands Ranch Parkway before firefighters brought it under control.
The fire is being investigated as an arson, but officials said no further information is available while the investigation continues.
Fireworks are being blamed for a 1-acre fire in open space in Arapahoe County near a home development between South Flanders Street and East Chenango Drive south of Quincy Reservoir.
About 26 firefighters from three agencies snuffed out the flames in about a half-hour at noon Friday, before the fire could threaten nearby homes.
“The terrain was so rough, it was a heck of a place to put out a fire,” said Cunningham Fire District spokesman Kevin Ferry.
Crews also fought a 20-acre fire in Douglas County that temporarily closed Griggs Road at Daniels Park Road.
In Mesa County, Bureau of Land Management airplanes doused a 5-acre wildfire along the Colorado River in Grand Junction on Friday afternoon.
