Recent rainfall will help mitigate the fire danger this summer, as long as it keeps up.

Colorado officials expect a quiet start to the wildfire season along the Front Range, but the western half of the state is drier and more vulnerable.

Dan Noonan, chief of the Durango Fire Protection District, said his sources foresee a normal wildfire season. They also think the April-May-June period will be slightly wetter than usual, Noonan said.

But weather prediction is a 50-50 business, Noonan said. There’s equal chances of being right or wrong, he said.

Since he arrived in the area in 1975, the climate has changed, Noonan said.

Wildfires have become more prevalent. As a result, residents must take measures to prevent them, but at the same time learn to live with them.

Bruce Evans, chief of Upper Pine Fire Protection District, agreed with Noonan’s observation about predicting weather-related issues.

“Right now, it’s a mixed bag,” Evans said. “One of two – we’re off to a slow start and could have a wet summer, but continued rain also facilitates growth of ground cover that dries out in the summer and produces fuel for fires.”

Weather predictions are right half the time, Evans said.

Evans cited a recent news article that said area rivers are carrying half the water they normally do at this time of year.

Dry forest undergrowth becomes ladder fuel that leads to crown fires and catastrophe, Evans said.

“But right now, it’s a flip of the coin,” Evans said.

Tim Batchelor, a captain with the Los Pinos Fire Protection District, said the National Weather Service is predicting below normal fire risk for the next 90 days.

The area currently is receiving rain and snow, but if the weather changes, the “green up” could produce fuel for fires, Batchelor said.

Last year, about 3,700 fires burned 36 square miles in Colorado. In 2013, the state had 1,200 fires that burned nearly 305 square miles.

State Fire Prevention and Control Director Paul Cooke said Friday the risk of fires along the Front Range will be below average through mid-June because of a wet spring.

He says the risk could increase when the summer heat dries things out.

Cooke says an average season brings about 3,000 fires that burn 150 square miles.

The National Interagency Coordination Center says Colorado’s wildfire potential will be normal or below normal through August. The center coordinates firefighting efforts nationwide.

daler@durangoherald.com

The Associated Press contributed to this report.