Colorado Springs-area officials share fire prevention tips for dry weather after several grass fires
Oct. 25—Officials are reminding citizens to do their part in preventing wildland fires after a series of fires ignited around the Colorado Springs area.
Most notably, the human-induced Sweetwater fire burned 346 acres of land near the Pikes Peak International Raceway on Saturday, causing evacuations.
Wildland fires are statistically most often caused by humans, according Klint Skelly, a lead meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Pueblo.
People should pay attention to when the National Weather Service announces a red-flag day — that is, a higher risk of fire danger due to warm temperatures, very low humidity and stronger winds — and postpone certain activities such as controlled burns, fire pits or shooting at outdoor ranges. Drivers should also be aware that chains dragging from their vehicles can create fire-inducing sparks, Klint said.
"Until we get significant moisture around here, we're gonna go from one day, where the fire danger isn't really high, to the next day, where if we have wind, it could be a high-fire-danger, red-flag day. These are the times we actually do have to be very vigilant," Colorado Springs Fire Department spokesman Mike Smaldino said. "A fire may start, and it has the chance to progress rapidly, as we saw on Saturday."
When using outdoor fireplaces or chimneys, Smaldino said it is important to put ashes into a nonflammable container and make sure they are cold and out. Ashes can store hot debris "for quite a while," catching fire with just a little bit of wind, even if the ashes are from the night before.
"Think about when you were a little kid, building a fire and you just kinda blow on the embers a little bit and it springs to light. Same concept," Smaldino said. "Not many people think about that."
Colorado Springs Fire Department has extinguished several small grass fires in the past 24 hours. Most recently, firefighters said they were extinguishing remaining hot spots after putting out a fire near U.S. 24 and South Union Boulevard around 4 p.m.
Fire crews previously responded to a grass fire at a homeless camp around 8 p.m. Monday near Pikes Peak Avenue and North Academy Boulevard, according to Gazette news partner KKTV, and another fire near Janitell Road and Las Vegas Street just after midnight on Tuesday morning.
Red-flag warnings will likely continue through the winter, Skelly said. The spring and the fall present stronger low-pressure systems in southern Colorado, often bringing strong southwesterly winds and low relative humidity.
"However, we've kinda gone away from the seasonality of fire weather here in southern Colorado," Skelly said. "It's all year-round for us nowadays."
