Officials need your help keeping fire danger under control this weekend in Colorado
CBS 4 News
Up and down the Front Range, sheriff's departments and fire departments are preparing for this weekend's weather.
"We have an additional level of monitoring through the weekend. We are always monitoring, but we'll be paying particular attention this weekend," said Debrah Schnackenberg, Director of the Douglas County Office of Emergency Management.
The National Weather Service has issued a red flag warning for Colorado's northern Front Range, I-25 corridor and northeastern Colorado. (It goes into effect on Saturday at 10 a.m. and expires at 7 p.m.) That means from Boulder to Douglas County, it won't take much for a fire to start -- and fire officials are ready.
"Here in Douglas County, we have our own wildfire-fighting helicopter with a team that goes with that. Those individuals are on, every day, weekend or weekday. They're always monitoring. They're always watching. And we'll be launching our helicopter at the first sign of any kind of smoke," said Schnackenberg.
"The weather has certainly been unseasonably warm, and we just want to remind people, don't be out there burning," said Vinnie Montez with Boulder County Sheriff's Office.
Both Douglas and Boulder counties are in stage one fire restrictions, which means you can't have any sort of open flame anyway, but first responders say right now anything can spark a tragedy.
"Don't start campfires. Don't create any sparks with equipment if you don't absolutely have to, be very careful with it, because here's the deal: we start a fire, with today's weather conditions being dry? If we have winds that pick up, it can move that fire very quickly," said Montez.
So, while you are out leaf peeping or just enjoying the last bit of warm weather for a while, officials need your help keeping things under control.
"It's very important for us to all be in this as a community and make sure that we're doing our best to keep our county safe, and not only just keep our county safe, but keep our residents and visitors safe from having to put themselves in a perilous situation," said Montez.
If you do go check out the views, the Boulder County Sheriff's Office says to make sure you don't park on any vegetation because even the heat from underneath your car can start a fire.