Colorado’s wildfire season has remained relatively quiet compared to 2020 thanks to more moisture and fewer wind events, according to experts.
The three largest wildfires in state history happened in 2020, and nine of the top 20 largest wildfires happened in the last three years.
“What really catalyzed the big fires or the big spread days we had last year were the big wind events. We haven’t really had as windy of a fall this year,” said Camille Stevens-Rumann, assistant professor at Colorado State University. Stevens-Rumann is a fire ecology faculty member, focused on studying how wildfires burn and how ecosystems recover after a fire. She said just a little more moisture in a given year can dramatically reduce the wildfire risk. The latest data from the U.S. Drought Monitor show 13.63% of the state is under extreme drought, compared to 77.72% one year ago.