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Wildfire Danger Continues To Grow In Colorado

DENVER (CBS4) - Colorado's Front Range has been hot in the past few days, and if the pattern sticks around, it could mean dry conditions leading to higher fire danger.

When a mechanical malfunction triggered a tanker fire along Interstate 25 on Wednesday, Mother Nature took the reins and pushed the flames into the dry brush.

Copter Greenland
Copter4 flew over the brush fire caused by a tanker that burst into flames on I-25 (credit: CBS)

"The wind actually very exacerbated this problem," Sgt. Ron Hanavan with the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said.

The flames scorched more than 200 acres of land, which comes as no surprise to fire meteorologist Tim Mathewson.

Copter Greenland fire
Copter4 flew over the brush fire caused by a tanker that burst into flames on I-25 (credit: CBS)

"Once you have ignition, when it's hot and dry, fire is going to spread," Mathewson said.

Mathewson is constantly monitoring weather conditions in Colorado to determine fire danger and risk levels. Despite a wet start to summer, it wouldn't take much to spark a wildfire.

"That wet spring that we had was really a double-edged sword. Typically it reduces the severity, we usually see a slow fire season, but this time of year the grasses dry out and we start seeing fire activity," Mathewson said.

Already there are a handful of fires burning across the state, and this week's forecast is raising concerns.

"We're a little concerned about some wind increasing over northwest Colorado later this weekend, and we'll also see dry conditions in lower elevations, the lower foothill regions," Mathewson said.

According to CBS4 Meteorologist Justin McHeffey, so far in August Denver has only seen .56 inches of rain compared to the average of 1.80 inches. Evergreen has only seen 1.62 inches compared to the average of 2.10 inches.

Mathewson says the fire concern goes will into September and October. He says that's when we typically see cold fronts come in and the wind picks up.

Wildfire Resources

- Visit CBSDenver.com's Living With Wildfire section.

Wildfire Photo Galleries

- See images from the most destructive wildfires (Black Forest, Waldo Canyon, High Park and Fourmile) and largest wildfire (Hayman) in Colorado history.

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