YOUR AD HERE »

Colorado officials warn 2022 could be worst wildfire year in state history

Additional $20 million in funding will help prepare state in its firefighting efforts, officials said during presentation on wildfire outlook

Olivia Prentzel
The Colorado Sun
Daffodils bloom from the charred remains of Pastor Bill Stephens' home in Superior, Colo., on Thursday, April 7, 2022. Stephens, the lead pastor at Ascent Community Church in neighboring Louisville, and his family are among more than two dozen families in the congregation who lost their homes in a wind-whipped wildfire Dec. 30, 2021. The wildfire northwest of Denver destroyed 1,084 homes, and Stephens' church was filled with smoke and ash. Stephens views the flowers as a sign of rebirth. (AP Photo/Thomas Peipert)

Colorado will pour an additional $20 million in federal funding into firefighting and prevention initiatives ahead of what officials say could be the worst wildfire season in the state’s history.

Above-average temperatures and below-average precipitation are predicted across the state through June, thrusting many parts of Colorado into more severe drought conditions and placing more of the state at risk, officials said during a presentation Friday on this year’s wildfire outlook.

Monsoonal moisture could bring reprieve to the Western Slope in June, but current forecasts predict extreme drought conditions for the Front Range through July, Mike Morgan, director of Colorado’s Division of Fire Prevention and Control said.



Ahead of what could be a devastating wildfire season, Colorado’s strategy to fight fires involves early detection and aggressive initial attack, Morgan said. The funding will help the state grow its firefighting fleet for the 2022 wildfire season and implement a statewide dispatch center.

Last year, 6,679 reported fires burned a total of 56,056 acres — marking an uptick from the average 5,507 fires reported per year in Colorado, Morgan said.




The state is expected to experience up to a fivefold increase in acres burned by wildfires by 2050, according to the Division of Fire Prevention and Control’s 2022 Wildfire Preparedness Plan.

Click here to read the full story from The Colorado Sun.

The Colorado Sun is a reader-supported news organization dedicated to covering the people, places and policies that matter in Colorado. Read more, sign up for free newsletters and subscribe at coloradosun.com.

FILE – Smoke rises in a neighborhood of Boulder County that was destroyed by a wildfire as seen from a Colorado National Guard helicopter during a flyover by Gov. Jared Polis on Dec. 31, 2021. In Colorado and other states hit by natural disasters this year, the pandemic has injected extra uncertainty and created more obstacles for families trying to rebuild. (Hart Van Denburg/Colorado Public Radio via AP, Pool, Fil)