A pressure-washing company came to the rescue last week after a driver on Interstate 70 apparently flicked a cigarette out of their window.

The Summit County Sheriff’s Office said the discarded cigarette was the likely cause of a small wildfire off the side of the highway in the Tenmile Canyon on Tuesday, July 23. The pressure-washing company helped hold the fire at bay while firefighters were en route.

Summit County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Mike Schilling said that the Sheriff’s Office has attempted to track down the good samaritans who helped suppress the fire but has not been successful.

“The reason we think it was a cigarette is because it was stop-and-go traffic and that greatly reduces the idea that it could have been a chain spark,” Schilling said. “Also, we found a cigarette right in the center of the burn zone.”

But, to be fair, Schilling added that the responding deputy also observed a lot of cigarettes in and around the burn zone, so while it is hard to say for certain what caused the fire, the evidence seems to point to a cigarette. He noted that Summit Fire & EMS doused the fire and would make any official determination of the fire’s cause.

Cigarettes should never be thrown on the roadside, not only because cigarette butts are among the most abundant types of trash littering the environment, but perhaps even more importantly in Colorado, because of the wildfire risk they pose, Schilling said.

“At the end of the day all littering is bad, but littering with fire is even worse,” Schilling said.

Summit Fire & EMS spokesperson Steve Lipsher said that a cigarette sparking a wildfire in Summit County is “nothing new.” But it should serve as a reminder that the vast majority of wildfires, about 90% according to research, are human-caused.

The Wellington Fire earlier this year in Summit County was also human-caused. Firefighters contained that fire to a quarter of an acre after it sparked from an abandoned campfire, less than one-half mile from the 282-home Wellington Neighborhood. Recent fuel reduction work in the area was credited with helping firefighters to quickly contain the blaze.

“While it is not a new phenomenon, it is incredibly concerning that we have people who are walking away from campfires that are still smoldering, that we would have someone recklessly toss a burning cigarette from their window,” Lipsher siad. “These are actions that could have catastrophic results. We have no tolerance for that kind of behavior.”

Summit County Jaime FitzSimons said, “When it comes to public safety, if you see something, say something. We will follow up on every lead provided to us by the community — that absolutely includes thrown cigarettes.”

Across the White River National Forest, the U.S. Forest Service also continues to report abandoned campfires. In the Eagle-Holy Cross Ranger District last week, officials discovered nine abandoned campfires, while another four abandoned campfires were discovered in Aspen-Sopris Ranger District — one of which was giving off heat over 800 degrees Fahrenheit. Local firefighters also doused an abandoned campfire at Miner Creek Road in the Dillon Ranger District last week.

Lipsher noted that across the U.S., firefighters are battling wildfires, especially in the Pacific Northwest. For over a week, the National Wildfire Preparedness Level has been at 5, the highest level, which indicates a “full commitment of national resources” and a high potential for significant wildfires to emerge, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

Federal resources are being “spread thin” at a time when wildfire danger is increasing across Summit County, Colorado and the West, Lipsher said. The peak of summer has brought hotter and drier conditions and vegetation that grew rapidly earlier in the year due to steady rain and strong runoff is starting to dry out, he said.

Summit Fire & EMS and Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District have each deployed a crew to assist with the Alexander Mountain Fire. That wildfire erupted near Loveland on Monday, July 29, and by the next day had grown to more than 1,800 acres, or more than twice the size of Central Park, with 0% containment.

With so many ongoing wildfires, Lipsher said that could mean fewer resources would be available if a major wildfire broke out in Summit County.

“There’s a finite number of firefighters and aircraft and resources available,” Lipsher said. “What happens when we get to these higher preparedness levels are those crews are already engaged in wildfires and getting them to help us, if we have a fire, could be difficult. We may not get all the resources we need and we may not get them as quickly as we need them.”