News - Local
Fire danger remains in Southern Colorado
Posted: Feb 20, 2011 9:20 PM by John Romero
Updated: Feb 21, 2011 4:02 AM
A fire sparked Saturday night in El Paso County quickly burned 45 acres of land. On Sunday the area was put under a Red Flag warning. Colorado Springs Fire Lieutenant Greg Martinez says just because it's chilly outside, doesn't mean the danger for a fire isn't there. "We have low humidifies even though it's cold, and we have the high winds." he says.
Those high winds dry every piece of vegetation in sight, turning them into a volatile fuel that can go up quick with just a little spark. "They'll burn rapidly and fairly intense at times too depending on what the winds are and also how heavy and dense the fuels are." explains Martinez.
Lt. Martinez says we're not out of the woods yet either. A dry weather pattern could mean the fire season will be around well into the spring. "We're in a slight drought and in fact it's going to continue on through May by the models that we're looking at." he explains, "That means we're preparing."
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