‘This is going to be a bad one:’ fire outlook grim

This year’s fire season could be among the worst in years, due to a combination of weather and environmental factors including dry fuels, hot and windy conditions, and a thin snowpack the past winter, according to local fire officials, who are bracing for a challenging summer.

“I think everybody’s ready for a bad season. We cycle through a really bad season every five or six years, and we’re due,” Bull Mountain Rural Fire Department Chief Cory Kirsch said. “Seems like every year’s bad anymore.”

Data supports that intuition, according to Doug Dodge, who is Jefferson County’s fire warden and disaster and emergency services coordinator.