MORGAN COUNTY – A brush fire that broke out on Tuesday afternoon near Wiggins was another sign that it is fire danger season in Colorado.
Much of the state was under a moderate fire danger risk as of Wednesday evening. The U.S. Forest Service says some areas on the Western Slope are at a high risk of wildfires.
A brush fire started in Morgan County around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday in the Orchard area northwest of Wiggins. The smoke from the flames could be seen from up to 30 miles away. Fire crews from Wiggins were working to control the outside edges of the blaze as it moved east toward a farm.
The smoke and haze could be felt on I-76 as far as Lochbuie.
Earlier in the day, fire crews quickly put out another brush fire near Alameda and Fairmount in Denver.
Also, a prescribed burn in Longmont on Wednesday got out of control when the winds kicked up and spread to about 20 acres. Crews were able to get it under control and were mopping up hotspots by late afternoon.
It is fires like these that prompted the National Weather Service to issue a red flag warning for the Interstate 25 corridor. It is one of only 10 areas in the country that is under that warning.
"Usually they're not too common," said Bernie Meier with the National Weather Service. "Sometimes we'll go a year with around three or four a year. And others are really busy – 20, 30, 40."
The red flags are raised by high winds, about 25 mph, and low humidity, less than 15 percent.
This recent weather was enough to spark two brush fires on Monday and several more last week.
"If we have dry, hot, windy weather, that's what's going to drive the fires," said Meier. "You got all the grass going into spring time and it hasn't greened up, yet, so you've got some really dry fuels."
The red flag warning is to encourage people to be careful.
"I wouldn't throw a cigarette butt out the window. It doesn't take much if it's really dry and windy," said Meier. "Just letting people know, be careful if you're out there."
