Dry conditions in Colorado caused by the drought throughout 2020 has major impacts in the upcoming winter and wildfires.

Throughout the summer the lack of rain and dry conditions leading into fall caused major issues. The little precipitation gave the fires fuel to keep burning.

“We pretty quickly moved into historical fire danger, not only in the county but the entire state,” O’Brien and Boulder county Sheriff Fire Management Officer Seth McKinley said.

With the approaching colder weather the fires started to be more contained. However, the the drought’s extreme conditions may lead to very little precipitation this winter. This little precipitation leaves fire fighting conditions difficult.

Fires with burn until, “conditions are no longer friendly for burning,” Bethany Urban said.

The little precipitation and dry theme of Colorado is looking to continue into the winter Denver’s expectation of 8 inches of snow is likely to not be met with these conditions. Despite recent snowstorms the weather for this winter is still unknown.

“It’s way to early to make a projection as to how this winter is going to end up or how long (the drought) might continue,” meteorologist Rich Tinker said.