JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — Snow that blanketed the foothills near Denver Tuesday was a big help after this weekend’s wildfires.
The moisture will help slow the number of wildfires we see in the metro and across the state, firefighters say, “Don’t let your guard down.”
The Hogback Fire that broke out this past weekend, burning around 44 acres, was near Interstate 70 not far from Red Rocks.
Firefighters say the snow is a welcome sight.
“It’s a little bit of snow and certainly every little bit helps, but it’s going to get dry and warm again. These one-hour fuels are going to dry out and the fire starts with that and it’s going to be right back to the races,” Jefferson County Fire Management Officer Kenyon Shephard said.
One-hour fuels are grasses that take only an hour to dry out before they are ready to burn again. While snow fell in the foothills today, snowpack at higher elevations we are told has been good.
“It helps, and we look at predictive models and look at it month by month and try to anticipate what we are to have for a fire season. But those things change all based on the weather which we can’t control,” Shephard said.
We also spoke to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control which said snowfalls like these are great, but one of the department’s firefighters said we need more of them over longer stretches of time.
Joseph Jiminaro, who works at a restaurant in Golden says any little bit of moisture helps.
“It definitely calms things down the rate of wildfires without a doubt it helps. My dad was a fireman in Jersey, so I take fire prevention very seriously,” Jiminaro said.
Angela Slegl heard about the fire in the mountains behind her workplace Big Daddy Bagels.
“I worry about the people and all the houses burning down because there’s been a lot of expansion in Colorado,” Slegl said.
Many are thankful for the snow today and hoping more comes soon. Firefighters say once the weather warms up, it would be a great time to reduce fire dangers around your home.