Craig Daily Press

Fire mitigation specialist for the Bureau of Land Management Lynn Barclay was happy to see the rain a couple of weeks ago because it was a sight she didn't see at all in June last year.

"This year, we had a couple of shots of moisture that held off the beginning of fire season," she said. "Conditions haven't lined up yet this year for a big fire."

But as Moffat County passes the one-year anniversary of the Thomas Fire, which burned 3,347 acres of BLM and private land, Barclay warns of a new threat.

"The moisture we did receive produced more of the fine fuels, which are now drying out," she said. "We're in a transition phase right now. If we had the fuel loading of fine fuels last year with the Thomas Fire, it could have been a different story."

Adding potential fuel to the fire, a warm and dry March caused snow pack percentages to plummet, according to the Natural Resources Conservation.

While the Yampa and White rivers have adequate reservoir storage in the NRC report, the snow pack average is at 20 percent, down from 45 percent in June last year.

Barclay said the western half of Moffat County currently is considered a "very high" fire danger risk, with only a few pockets of "high" fire danger.

Wednesday the county fell under a "Red Flag" warning, a notice to firefighters to be aware of the low humidity levels and warm, dry winds blowing through the area.

"A cigarette in the cheat grass will start a fire really quickly," Barclay said. "It's likely to be hottest this weekend, with the dust and low humidity. The dry wind that dehydrates people works on the vegetation the same way."

No fire restrictions currently are in effect in Moffat County, but restrictions are evaluated weekly and humans are a part of the formula.

"Human-caused fires play a part in setting fire restrictions," Barclay said. "Everyone needs to be especially careful with campfires. There are pockets of extreme fire danger in Dinosaur National Monument."

The fire unit consisting of Rio Blanco, Moffat, Routt, Jackson and Grand counties experiences about 200 fires each season, she said, with Moffat and Rio Blanco being the busiest.

The BLM already has chased and extinguished two dozen small fires in Moffat and Rio Blanco counties this season. Lightning strikes caused most of them.

Fire restrictions can be found at http://dola.colorado.gov/dem/index.html, and national fire statistics can be accessed at www.nifc.gov/fire_info/nfn.htm.