NEDERLAND, Colo. — In Colorado, mountain towns are wrapping up one of the worst ski seasons that anyone can remember. But it’s not the slushy slopes that are on people’s minds right now.
It’s the wildfire risk.
“Working at the bar, you talk to a lot of locals, and it’s on everybody’s mind,” said Melissa Nicholson, who owns a brewery and boutique in Rollinsville, about an hour outside Boulder. “Fire is the No. 1 concern for everyone right now.”
It’s not just ski country. Most of the American West is in the midst of a historic snow drought.
In Colorado, the snowpack is the lowest it has been in nearly 40 years, since record-keeping began. With a heat dome headed toward Western states as early as next week, people are worried.
“Coloradoans and really anyone in the Rocky Mountain region should be bracing for an unusually early and potentially severe fire season,” said Tracy LeClair, a public information officer for the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. Snow provides a steady source of soil moisture that helps to prevent vegetation from drying out and fueling wildfires.
Jennifer Morse, a scientist at a nearby research station for the University of Colorado, studies snow and has lived in the nearby town of Nederland for 20 years. It has been the worst snow year she has ever seen.
It’s not clear how climate change will affect Colorado yet, but warming temperatures are causing snow to decline across the American West, while also doubling the frequency and intensity of extreme wildfires worldwide. The National Interagency Fire Center forecasts wildfire risks in Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah will be above average by June.
Two weeks ago, Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said the state was putting nearly $7 million into wildfire prevention grants. Local utility companies are also taking action, moving recently to shut off the power during heavy winds to avoid the risk of fire sparked by downed power lines. It’s a precaution that has been practiced for years in California, which has a history of such fires.
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