Summit County, "the green island" of Colorado, kept wildfires small compared to the rest of the state
It's been an active summer for wildfires in Colorado with multiple popping up on the Western Slope and the Front Range, but Summit County and the high country have mostly been spared so far.
Why is that?
Capt. Matt Benedict, wildfire division captain for Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District in Breckenridge, said it's a few things; chief among them is the effort to work together with other local firefighters to make sure when a fire does start, jurisdictions and lines on a map don't prevent them from putting it out as quickly as possible.
"We have taken down all the fences and all the walls," Benedict said, referencing the openness between agencies like the U.S. Forest Service and themselves. "(We) made sure that we're all speaking the same language, that we are moving in the same direction."
That's important for wildfires that start like the one last Sunday, just west of the Gold Hill Trailhead between Frisco and Breckenridge. While it was on national forest land, they were not the only crew to go out there to protect homes and the forest. While the area burned totaled just one-eighth of an acre, Benedict said these things can turn into monsters if they are not quick.
"We take these fires very seriously, although this one was small, we know that the next one might not stay small. And we are prepared for that."
That's also where he points to PANO AI cameras that first spotted the smoke rising from the national forest, which gave them a huge heads up on the timing and location of where to send crews, as well as previous mitigation in that area which has been known to be well traveled by hikers and even a common spot for lightning to strike.
Finally, there's what could arguably be the largest component: the weather.
Summit County saw its fair share of rain this last month, which CBS Colorado First Alert Meteorologist Joe Ruch explained is great for the time being, but sets up the county for a fuel-heavy dry season and even more risk for fire once the area dries out from all that moisture.
Benedict, who works on the fire danger meter you'll see around the county, just helped decide to move that meter up from "moderate" to "high" fire danger, so things are starting to turn, just like the seasons. But we can look back on a relatively calm summer for wildfires.
