COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs has seen the most rain ever recorded this month. News5’s lead forecaster Mike Daniels says we've seen almost 9 and 1/2 inches of rainfall in June.
While the rain is a good thing in Southern Colorado, it also means vegetation is growing faster, and could be dangerous if a fire were to begin.
Captain Rich Valdez with the Colorado Springs Fire Department says the problem is when everything gets overgrown and then dries out, it's fuel for a wildfire. He says the community saw a lot of rain throughout June, but now it’s hot, and the grounds are drying out.
He says one of his concerns is about the east side of Colorado Springs near Marksheffel Road and in open space areas. The open spaces on the east side of the city are known as prairie open spaces.
“From Woodman, to the south to around Squirrel Creek, there's a lot of open area and that's a big concern for us as that lot of fuels open area and it goes towards structures and possibly life safety,” said Captain Valdez.
Valdez says on days like today, grass dries out in a matter of a few hours, or days at most. Meanwhile, trees hang on to moisture a little while longer.
That's why he says it's so important to mitigate around your home not just in the summer but all year round.
“We asked the homeowners do their part and share the responsibility,” said Valdez. “We’re asking them to trim their bushes close to their house, keep them well maintained, remove any unnecessary leaves, or needles from trees that have fallen.”
Valdez said a good rule of thumb is keeping grass and other vegetation to four inches or less. He added, that can help prevent a fire from spreading to bushes or trees
The Colorado Springs Fire Department is hosting a ‘Living with Wildfire Townhall Series’ and the community is invited to attend. One conversation is scheduled for July and another conversation is scheduled for August. For more information, click here.
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