Deepan Dutta / ddutta@summitdaily.com
Wildfire forecasters are predicting below average wildfire risk in Summit County for the next three months. That assessment is thanks to this year’s hearty winter snowpack and a wetter, cooler spring and summer weather pattern.
The Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, which publishes 30, 60 and 90 day wildfire outlooks each month for fire and government officials, announced that, based on current conditions and historical data, there is reason to believe that May to July will be cooler and wetter in the central and southern mountains thanks to a sustained snowpack that has survived into spring, combined with a weak El Niño pattern that historically has been associated with average to below average wildfire seasons. At the very least, wildfire conditions are expected to be better than last year, when dry conditions through the winter precipitated an explosive summer. The center also noted that the statewide snowpack is the second highest recorded on April 1 since 1992, and above average snowpack on April 1 has been followed by a below average large wildfire season every year since 1992.