DENVER (KDVR) — As Colorado prepares for a change in seasons, authorities are stressing that despite the drop in temperatures, do not drop your guard when it comes to fire danger.

The Pinpoint Weather team and federal officials confirm that monsoon season saved the state from seeing more wildfires this summer, but the recent past should remind the public always to remain vigilant, even as the colder months approach.

“Our fire season is all year round,” Pinpoint Weather chief meteorologist Dave Fraser said. “It has to do with whether or not we’re ahead or behind on moisture.”

This could be explained by our current La Niña weather pattern, which appears to be sticking around into the winter season.

“What that means for Denver and the Front Range is a warmer and drier season. So we can expect maybe the snow totals at the end of the season to be low,” Fraser explained.

‘Be on guard,’ weather expert warns

FOX31 also caught up with meteorologists with NOAA who confirmed what Fraser pinpointed, saying this could also be why Colorado has not seen as many fires during the summer.

But does the number of fires really matter?

“So the number of fires isn’t necessarily as important as the number of acres burned and we’re certainly, seeing much lower numbers than we saw a couple of years ago,” NOAA meteorologist Zach Hiris said.

Colorado saw a hellacious year for fires in 2020, when more than 600,000 acres burned compared to just 25,000 this year.

“We’re looking for things to be continued dry and continued warmer than normal. So I would say to people while we haven’t had a huge fire season going into the fall, until we get the snow-making going, be on guard,” Fraser said.

The Pinpoint Weather team confirms this will be the third straight winter in a La Niña pattern, which is unprecedented. This has not been seen this since the 1950s, which is why it’s even more important to be on guard with this warmer and drier outlook.