A rare fire weather warning has been issued by the National Weather Service, warning both rural and urban residents in south central and southeastern Colorado of 60-mph wind gusts and extremely dry conditions Wednesday that pose a “significant threat to life and property.”
Strong winds out of the southwest, between 25 and 35 mph, coupled with relative humidity levels in the single digits, prompted forecasters to warn of a “particularly dangerous situation” in the Upper Arkansas Valley, the San Luis Valley, the Wet Mountains and Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
The conditions are expected from 10 a.m. to midnight Wednesday, though the highest risk will be between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.
“In some cases, safe and timely evacuation may not be possible should a fire approach,” forecasters in Pueblo said.
Critical fire weather conditions are forecast across much of southeastern Colorado on Wednesday, stretching from the New Mexico border to the south to the Kansas border to the east.
In the San Luis Valley, blowing dust could bring very low visibility at times, making travel difficult, and strong winds could blow down trees and power lines.
“Use caution if you must drive across the San Luis Valley on Wednesday,” forecasters warned.
Xcel Energy initially planned to shut off power midday to about 7,100 customers in Alamosa, Conejos, Costilla and Rio Grande counties to reduce the risk of wildfire, but later cancelled those plans after observing lower wind speeds than anticipated.
“Weather systems can shift quickly, and risk is evaluated both based on current conditions and on how conditions are expected to evolve over the coming hours,” Xcel said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. “We continually monitor actual conditions and changes to forecasts in order to minimize the scale and duration of any Public Safety Power Shutoff event.”
According to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, issued April 16, 97% of Colorado is in moderate to exceptional drought conditions, caused in part to record-high temperatures in March and historically low snowpack.
Elevated fire danger could continue through Thursday, forecasters said.