The past few months have been and on record and in recent memory, leaving tinder-dry conditions in Colorado ripe for fast-moving and large wildfires.
As of Monday, the National Weather Service in Boulder had issued 17 red-flag warnings for fire danger since Jan. 1 — 11 of them in the first 20 days of March alone.
“March is one of our snowiest months, normally, with about an a average of 11.2 inches of snow in Denver,” said Natalie Sullivan, a meteorologist with the weather service’s office in Boulder. “We haven’t received any snow this month. We are definitely having warm, dry conditions and wind as well.”
While the danger of wildfires exists year round in Colorado, officials say the public during this dry spell. across the Front Range.
“If there is a red flag warning out nobody should be open burning or throwing cigarette butts out the window,” Sullivan said. “The brush and the fuels are dry and ready to burn. If you give them any ignition, then the wind will allow the fire to spread very quickly.”
State fire officials worry that because it’s so early into the year, some people aren’t following the basic Colorado fire prevention rules.
“We do really believe that people need to be a lot more cognizant of what they’re doing,” said Caley Fisher, spokeswoman for the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. “Wildfires are a serious threat to life and property, especially right now.”
She added: “One tiny little spark can create a huge flame and engulf an entire region.”
Here are some ways people have ignited wildfires in Colorado:
1. Target shooting
Recreational shooters have started a number of wildfires across Colorado. Heat from bullets is more than enough to ignite dry fuels, especially grasses and brush. In February, near Hygiene was started by target shooters who were aiming at steel plates. A fragment from one of their rounds ignited nearby grasses and charred 151 acres, prompting dozens of evacuations and consuming a barn and several outbuildings. On Sunday, officials say a shooter that could be seen for miles.
2. Cigarettes
Authorities say cigarettes are one of the most common causes of wildfires, prompting roadside blazes that have consumed large areas. A cigarette butt tossed from a passing car in Fort Collins last month. The 1989 Black Tiger fire in Boulder Canyon, also started by a cigarette, burned more than 2,000 acres, destroying 40 homes and causing roughly $10 million in damage.
3. Campfires and stoves
The May 2012 and consumed 7,600 acres. July 2016 Cold Springs fire near Nederland burned a relatively small area — only about 500 acres — but , including . It was started by a who apparently left their campfire unattended. They were later sentenced to work release and probation . Authorities say the , which prompted evacuations near Boulder on Sunday, is believed to be human caused and started in an area . The cause of the Sunshine fire has not been officially released.
4. Open backyard fires
Backyard fire pits are a real danger when it comes to wildfires. In 2008, the Santa Barbara County sheriff in California said a wildfire was caused accidentally by a bonfire built by a group of young adults. The 2010 near Boulder stemmed from a backyard fire pit, made by a volunteer firefighter to burn debris, , consuming more than 150 homes. Flying sparks can ignite tinder-dry fuels, so officials encourage people to keep an eye on fire bans and follow them closely.
5. Heat from vehicles, lawnmowers
Conditions have been so dry along the Front Range that a lawnmower was blamed Friday for starting a wildfire in the south Denver area. “This accidental fire is a good reminder of how dry conditions are,” South Metro Fire Rescue said on its Twitter feed. The catalytic converter on vehicles can also ignite dry fuels, so be careful where you park when fire conditions are ripe. Vehicles catching fire have also been blamed for a number of wildfires, including one in Douglas County in August 2015 .
Heat from a lawnmower started this fire! This accidental fire is a good reminder of how dry conditions are going into the weekend.
— South Metro Fire Rescue (@SouthMetroPIO)
6. “Controlled” burns
When controlled burns escape, they can become massive wildfires. The March 2012 in Jefferson County was a controlled burn that got out of control and killed three people. A wildfire near Aspen stemmed from a controlled burn Sunday wind gusts. A wildfire near Kremmling started in September, officials say, after a man burning slash piles of his burn.
7. Burning love letters
It’s not the typical way wildfires are started, but it shows just how easy it is to ignite them. The largest and among the costliest wildfires in Colorado history was started, officials say, by a U.S. Forest Service employee who burned a love letter from her estranged husband. went on to char 137,760 acres in Park, Teller, Jefferson and Douglas counties in 2002. On one day alone, it ran 19 miles.
Wildfires ignite with incredible ease and can spread astonishingly quick, killing civilians and firefighters, and destroying homes, vehicles and everything else in their path. Next time you’re thinking about tossing that cigarette butt out the window or leaving those embers in a campfire, think again.
For more information, visit or the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s website at .
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Updated March 22, 2017 at 14:43 p.m. Updated March. 22, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. The following information has been corrected: Because of a reporter’s error, an earlier version of this story misidentified the Big Elk fire’s cause. The U.S. Forest Service says the blaze was started by heat from a catalytic converter.