Berrendo Fire Chief Jim Higgins said Wednesday that despite dry conditions, his department has not had to deal with too many fires.
“So far, this year hasn’t been too bad,” Higgins said.
He added that typically his department has to respond to two or three fires around the Fourth of July started by fireworks, but this year they didn’t receive any calls. More than 73,000 wildfires burn an average of about 7 million acres of private, state and federal land in the U.S. each year, according to the U.S. Forest Service website.
Controlled burns, or fires purposely started to dispose of tree branches can turn into larger fires if not properly monitored.