EVERGREEN, Colo. — Winter in Colorado has been warm, windy, and dry, leaving many Coloradans worried about wildfires. On Thursday, high winds ripped through Evergreen with trees falling on properties and blocking roadways.
Einar Jensen, public information officer with Evergreen Fire Rescue, said thousands of trees dropped on Thursday, with crews even helping school buses have access to neighborhoods to drop children off at home.
"Our firefighters responded to 78 calls yesterday, and most of them were trees versus power lines, branches versus power lines, also communications lines, and we don't care if it's a communications line, or power line, let's use caution," Jensen said. "Call 911, especially if you see sparking."
Denver7 reported on Category 2 hurricane winds hitting parts of the Front Range mountains and foothills, where a high wind warning was in effect for the Front Range mountains and foothills until noon on Friday.
"The number of trees that dropped in yesterday's windstorm, I won't say it's unprecedented, but it's certainly rare. And we've certainly seen that number of trees drop in more isolated parts of the state,' said Jensen."
For Evergreen resident Margo Henderson, the wind spoke for itself. She described gusts she believed reached 50 miles per hour or more and noticed several trees down in her neighborhood.
"When I was driving by it yesterday, it looked like a giant came through the woods, picked up trees and snapped them in half," said Henderson. "I mean, it's absolutely wild that Mother Nature can do that and you see it happening all over the U.S., and then it happens to your little neighborhood, it's just really crazy."
A little snow last week wasn't enough to erase wildfire danger. Jensen said drought and low humidity still drive fire risk across the area. As warmer temperatures move in next week, he's hoping community members will take action and prepare for what could happen.
"If you have trees that have been killed by mountain pine beetles, remove them, dispose of them as the Colorado State Forest Service recommends. As for the rest of the mitigation around your property, mow the dead grasses so they're as short as possible, because fuel height determines flame length and remove the dead needles and the dead leaves from around your house," Jensen said."
The powerful winds stretched well beyond Evergreen. In northern Colorado, the impact was significant enough to close Colorado State University on Friday for a damage assessment. State climatologist Russ Schumacher explained high winds can be a serious concern for wildfires.
"This winter it was the warmest winter on record for Colorado. The last five months is the warmest October through February period that we've ever had in Colorado," said Schumacher. "March is off to a very warm start and we've had quite a few, windstorms during that period as well, back in December, some in February, now in March."
Our weather team is forecasting high fire danger on Saturday along the Interstate 25 corridor and across the plains. We will continue to update you throughout the weekend.
Click here to watch the Denver7 live weather stream.
