Governor Polis urges homeowners to stay vigilant with wildfire mitigation efforts despite promising outlook (Photo: Connor Shreve/KOA News Radio)
State officials don't expect to see a repeat of the 2018 wildfire season in Colorado. At the Governor's annual wildfire outlook briefing, they declared the wildfire forecast for 2019 better than it was at this point last year. Still, officials cautioned against getting too complacent. According to the Department of Fire Prevention & Control, "wet and cool patterns in the spring do not eliminate large fire activity June through August, but rather reduces the length and severity of the fire season."
Governor Jared Polis urged homeowners to complete mitigation work, like they would any other year.
"Having a defense perimeter is absolutely critical," Polis Said. "In the aftermath of fires, we've seen houses that are untouched next to houses that are completely destroyed. Homeowners who's houses were untouched did the right mitigation in terms of creating a defense perimeter. Nothing could be more important in protecting your home."
In 2018, there were 18 wildfires that qualified for state responsibility. Colorado spent an estimated 40-million dollars on those incidents. Five of the state's 20-largest wildfires occurred in 2018.
Colorado averages more than 6,000 wildfires per year that burn more than 100,000 acres.
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