Snowfall, high winds cause fire danger in Southern Colorado

A few people across southern Colorado woke up to snow in their front yards, but the dry snow also brought high winds creating dangerous fire conditions.

Icy side streets were a small concern for commuters, but nothing they weren’t used to.

“Getting over here wasn’t an issue at all, I mean coming down my street was a little icy,” said Monument resident Jim Wallis.

The bigger concern for some living in the Monument area is the lack of snow.

“I wish we had more, it’s too dry,” Wallis said.

In Woodland Park, over an inch of snow fell, blanketing the town in a wintery wonderland.

But across southern Colorado wind was the biggest problem. Signs around town said there’s moderate fire danger, but we’re also under a red flag warning, meaning there are more resources readily available in case a fire takes off.

“We might get the moderate fire start, but now we have a possibility of extreme fire growth, fire that can grow beyond our resources initially on attack,” said Brian Vaughan with the Colorado Springs Fire Department. “We do have the wind-driven fire potential and we have the humidity being super low.”

Even though it’s legal to burn right now, fire officials say to hold off and make sure you’re being mindful.

It’s not uncommon to have days with both snow and high fire danger, even though it seems strange. Although the higher elevations may have gotten snow, strong northerly winds mean it’s dry for everyone else.