The monsoons returned to the Four Corners with a splash this weekend, soaking Durango’s streets, cooling temperatures and providing a much-needed break from weeks of brutal heat.
Braedon Winters, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Grand Junction, said the weekend’s showers were part of the long-awaited monsoon pattern. Moisture is expected to linger throughout the week, Winters said.
“We’re still looking at day-after-day precipitation even into the weekend,” Winters said. “It is kind of starting to decrease after we hit the middle of this week, but even later into the weekend, we’re still looking at 20 to 40% chances of precipitation across much of the Western Slope.”
Though moisture has returned to the area, Southwest Colorado is not out of the woods yet when it comes to fire danger and drought. The region is still in a widespread drought, and after a summer plagued by wildfires, many of the burn sites are at risk of flash floods due to the heavy rainfall.
“We’re finally getting some moisture into the fuels, making it less susceptible to new starts going forward, hopefully,” Winters said. “But on the downside, there have been flooding and debris flows, which we’ve already seen some examples of that – particularly over the Lee and Elk fires over the past few days.”
Durango Fire Protection District Wildfire Battalion Chief Scott Nielsen said the rains have been helpful in reducing some fire danger. However, the area is still at high risk, he said, noting the rains were not uniform throughout the region.
“It’s definitely taking the teeth out of fire danger, at least temporarily,” Nielsen said. “But there’s still some areas, especially south that haven't gotten much of any rain.”
Nielsen said fuels like grasses and trees throughout the region remain dry, brown and susceptible to fire danger. The storms also brought lightning, Nielsen said, which ignited several small fires throughout the area.
“The big thing that has come up in the past few days is we’ve had a lot of lightning fires,” Nielsen said.
Nielsen said his and other agencies have received many reports of lightning fires from concerned residents. He said that for people reporting fires, it is important to be specific about where fires are located and when they were seen burning. Additionally, because the Forest Service and fire protection district receive so many calls, some may not be answered immediately.
Nielsen said officials responding to fires answer a high volume of calls and take every one into careful consideration. If a call is not answered right away, operators will call back to get more information, which is why it is important for the people who made the phone call to answer their phone, too.
Nielsen said La Plata County is still under Stage 2 fire restrictions, though the county and fire officials from local jurisdictions and the Forest Service will re-evaluate in the coming days. For now, he said, it is best to adhere to restrictions and to be extra vigilant to avoid starting any forest fires.
sedmondson@durangoherald.com
