12-04-2025
Firefighters urge caution during high fire danger
(COLORADO SPRINGS) — The weekend of April 12-13 is setting up to be another tease of summer, with sunny skies and temperatures unheard of for early April, and with that comes an unfortunate side effect–high fire danger.
'We're likely… going to be very close to, if not tying or breaking all-time April record highs, so this is extremely warm for this time of year,' said FOX21 Meteorologist Robert Hahn.
High temperatures typically mean high fire danger, and firefighters are warning that will indeed be the case over the next few days. Crews to the south have already had to battle one large fire on the south side of Pueblo on Thursday, but now fire departments are concerned other people are not as aware of the danger with winter barely on its way out.
April 10, 2025: Lake Minnequa fire under control
'One of our biggest concerns when we get like that is that people aren't quite fire-ready just yet, it's only April,' said Lieutenant Will Rogers with the Colorado Springs Fire Department (CSFD).
As of April 6, much of southern Colorado is below 75% of its normal snowpack, and any remaining snowpack is set to dry up very quickly. Rogers said it doesn't take much to start a fire right now.
'Just careless disposal of some coals from a barbecue can result in a fire,' Rogers said.
Coals from a barbeque are only one of the potential causes of a fire–one can start from a carelessly tossed cigarette or even welding outside, like the Silver Charm fire in April of 2022 that burned dangerously close to homes in northern Colorado Springs.
April 22, 2022: SIlver Charm fire caused by welding outdoors
Most fires are simply careless but costly mistakes, but when intent is involved, firefighters say the best thing you can do is speak up.
'If they see someone that looks like they're starting a malicious fire of any kind, call 911 or report it right away,' Rogers said.
CSFD has a website that shows how you can prevent simple fires at your home or set an evacuation plan in the case of a wildfire burning near your home.
So, if you decide to throw the rare April barbeque this weekend, firefighters ask you to be prepared to do your part in preventing a small fire from growing into a destructive one.
'You want to make sure that you've got a way to put that fire out and that you're at least 15 feet away from any sort of other combustible material, whether that's a home, a fence, or a tree,' Rogers said.
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