COLORADO SPRINGS — “We were Aspen hunting, so we got a few but we also got a little bit of snow,” said Natalie who was hiking at Mueller State Park with friends.
Snow and cold are in the forecast for Southern Colorado.
The first hard freeze for the region is expected by the weekend.
It leads into a season when some underestimate wildfire danger, especially in areas with tall weeds and grasses.
“Even though it's cold, doesn't need to be hot for fire to burn. And we [can get] those quick, fast spreading fire,” said Colorado Springs Firefighter, Ryan Morris.
There is a long list of fast-moving grass wildfires that have happened late fall and through the winter in Southern Colorado.
It is a risk along roadways where sparks or tossed cigarette butts can start fires.
Firefighters also put out a lot of fires near homeless camps.
“It's the unattended fires that we hope don't spread,” said Morris.
Cold can also increase the fire risk in homes.
“Just people inside, kind of hunkered down to stay warm,” said Morris, “Maybe they haven't used the fireplace all year, haven't used the furnace much. We’ll get a lot of calls.”
The caution and advice is to revisit your personal fire prevention plan as days get cold.
Morris said, “We just want everybody to be safe.”
At a minimum make sure smoke and carbon monoxide detectors are in working order.
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