Fire managers in Colorado are worried that resources will be stretched thin should large blazes spark along the rapidly drying Front Range over the holiday weekend. This as several small fires have already been keeping fire crews busy in places such as Boulder County.
There, just in the last few days, fire crews have worked to squelch a dozen or so fires in the area's heavily populated foothills. Some were likely caused by humans, others by the unwelcome combo of dry lightning and hot and windy weather. Boulder County Sherriff Joe Pelle says fire managers aren’t taking any chances because most federal resources are tied up with large blazes in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico.
"There are not going to be a lot of slurry bombers and helicopters and fire crews available so we have to be hyper vigilant and get on a fire immediately and keep it small," Pelle said.
Pelle says last fall’s Four Mile Canyon blaze is still fresh in the minds of firefighters and many residents. That fire was among the most costly in Colorado’s history – destroying 169 homes.
