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FRISCO — The National Weather Service in Denver issued a red flag warning Thursday for portions of Colorado’s northern mountains and northern Front Range foothills, including all of Summit County.
The red flag warning is in effect until 7 p.m. Thursday as Colorado experiences its hottest days of the year thus far. The warning was placed due to high winds and relatively low humidity in the area, conditions that make wildfires very dangerous to deal with.
Aside from Summit County, the warning also is in effect for all of Clear Creek and Larimer counties and parts of Grand, Jackson and Boulder counties.
Westerly wind gusts of up to 35 mph are expected throughout the afternoon. Humidity levels were expected to drop below 15 percent. New fire growth may start and spread rapidly and result in dangerous fire behavior.
“Red flag warnings are issued for specific areas when the environmental conditions indicate that if a wildfire were to start, it would spread rapidly,” Summit Fire & EMS Chief Jeff Berino said. “It’s not tied to fuel conditions at all; it’s strictly a weather issue.”
Berino said fuel conditions on the ground remain relatively unchanged since wildfire danger in the county was raised to “moderate” last week, meaning operations in Summit County will not be meaningfully altered due to the red flag warning.