The drought outlook for Summit County has gone from bad to dismal in the past week. And we are some of the lucky ones.
In late July drought conditions here were abnormally dry to moderate, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Today, most of the county is under severe drought. Last year at this time we had no drought.
Drought conditions get worse as you travel west on I-70. The Vail area is rated severe, while western Eagle County into Eagle, Gypsum and Glenwood Canyon are rated extreme.
Across the state more than 865,000 people are impacted by drought today. That is roughly one-sixth of Colorado’s population – the worst in five years.
What happened?
Experts tell Krystal 93 the summer monsoon skipped most of the High Country and instead brought heavy, sometimes flooding rains to the foothills and eastern plains.
“The monsoons, which keep us very regulated through the summer, especially at this altitude, haven’t done a whole lot,” Red White & Blue Fire’s Matt Benedict said. “Couple that with lightning in the past few weeks and we have gotten lucky. Summit hasn’t had any starts (from lightning). But as the fuels and forest get drier our luck will eventually run out.”
The Western Slope has not been as lucky. Drought is extreme in Glenwood Springs, Grand Junction and Meeker, where the largest fire of summer, the Lee Fire, has burned more than 45,000 acres in less than a week. It was likely sparked by lightning.
“We are currently seeing fire danger conditions similar to August 2020, when western Colorado and the White River National Forest saw record-breaking fires,” White River National Forest Supervisor Brian Glaspell said in a statement.
2020 was the worst fire season in Colorado history. Three of the state’s largest recorded fires scorched more than a half-million acres combined, including the devastating East Troublesome fire in Grand County, which burned an estimated 100,000 acres in 12 hours – up to 6,000 acres every hour.
Starting this Friday, Aug. 8, Summit County and the entire White River National Forest adopt Stage 2 fire restrictions. If your fire does not have a shut-off valve, it is outlawed.
“We are urging everyone to be extremely vigilant,” BLM Upper Colorado River District Manager Greg Larson said. “Dragging trailer chains, parking in dry grass, even setting hot equipment down in dry vegetation can start fires right now.”