COLORADO, USA — If you're tired of all this snow and shoveling, be thankful we're not talking about wildfires in Colorado right now.
Snow has covered the ground in some places for weeks, and we haven’t seen the fire danger we’re used to seeing this time of year.
Colorado has only seen one day of elevated fire danger so far this year. At this time last year, we'd seen six days of increased risk, according to 9NEWS meteorologist Chris Bianchi.
Remember, the Marshall Fire happened in December 2021, right before a snowstorm. It's not the only time a big fire has exploded right before a big storm.
"Some of the biggest fires that South Metro has responded to along the Front Range have been a result of a cold front approaching. We get gusty wind conditions and usually it’s dry for a few days before the cold front actually reaches us," said Eric Hurst with South Metro Fire Rescue (SMFR).
All that snow still on the ground from December can be a good thing. In a winter like this, Hurst said the focus isn’t always on fire.
"It’s a great thing to have this much snow," Hurst said. "If we get a windy day, even if it’s wintertime, we can still have grass fires. If we’ve had recent precipitation, that helps a lot."
At the SMFR training facility in Parker, a line of trucks sits ready to help in the storm. Though they're decorated with fire logos and sirens, their main purpose is to help with something else.
"We have snowplows ready to go. And these are equipped like emergency vehicles with lights and sirens so that we can get the emergency equipment where it needs to be," Hurst said. "We’ve been lucky. With so much snow on the ground, it’s a pretty low risk."
The plows will clear away snow to help fire trucks and ambulances make it safely and quickly to emergencies. SMFR will station the plows across their district through the entire storm this week, just in case they’re needed.
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