A hazy film of smoke hovers distantly over the county as wildfires ravage much of the West from Colorado to California, mercifully skirting Newcastle and surrounding areas. While the nearly 12 inches of rain coupled with high humidity this summer have thus far kept wildfires in the county at a near six-year-low, experts warn that we’re not quite out of the woods yet as fall hunting season looms.
“So far, we’ve only had a few small fires,” said Daniel Tysdal, the Weston County Fire Protection District fire warden, noting that the largest wildfire this season on Aug. 12 only burned approximately 29 acres south on Hwy. 450. “We’ve been very fortunate, but we’re at the end of the season when grasses are headed out and starting to die.”
The extremely wet year has further added to the amount of fine fuels such as grasses, as well as denser, longer-burning fuels like twigs, branches, trees and large logs. It’s been a while since the county has experienced such conditions and, as such, introduces a bit of an unknown because the county is covered and surrounded by these one-hour, 10-hour and 100-hour burning fine fuels, from grasses to heavy tree stumps, Tysdal said.