'Colorado Firecamp' Teaches Nation's Firefighters How To Fight Flames

By Chris Spears

SALIDA, Colo. (CBS4) - Ninety miles southwest of Denver there's a place where aspiring wildland firefighters learn how to fight the flames.

"I'm just trying to step up my game in the fire world," said Lawrence Luciano of New York City. "I'm here to get good training. I've heard a lot about this school. It's one of the number one schools in the country."

It's called Colorado Firecamp and after several days in the classroom students prepared for an unusual graduation -- setting a half-acre prescribed wildfire.

"Students have come to camp to learn about wildland firefighting, so this is their first time to be around fire, to see smoke and flame," said Kent Maxwell with Colorado Firecamp.

As a meteorologist I was a bit nervous watching an open flame put on the drought stricken landscape.

"Nervous is one way to put it, another way to put it is -- it happens, it's part of living here," said student Nick Hampe of Denver.

The controlled burn gave students a first-hand experience at fighting a fire in drought conditions.

As the class worked to contain their small blaze, less than 50 miles away firefighters worked to contain a major late-season blaze that consumed over 18,000 acres.

"It's no longer that traditional summer fire season from Memorial Day to Labor Day," said Maxwell.

Longer fire seasons are being fueled by a decline in the health of forests across Colorado, including pests like the pine beetle. Another factor is stubborn weather patterns that create prolonged periods of drought.

LINK: Colorado Firecamp

Meteorologist Chris Spears writes about stories related to weather and climate in Colorado. Check out his bio, connect with him on Facebook or follow him on Twitter @ChrisCBS4.