Though Summit County is “greening up” this week, the fire danger has moved from moderate to high, according to Matt Benedict, a Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District division chief.

Benedict wrote in an email that “occasional moisture” has kept the county’s fuel moisture from reaching critical levels, but the weather forecast predicts a few days of critical fire weather this week before a potential storm early next week. He added that officials will monitor fire danger levels during the critical fire weather and adjust as needed.

The county has not yet implemented fire restrictions, and Benedict wrote that the greening up of vegetation has been why, “but it’s not going to last very long.”

At the Summit Board of County Commissioners work session Tuesday, June 9, Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons told the board that other counties in the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit have entered fire restrictions. Those counties have lower elevations, often go into restrictions earlier than Summit and are collecting data that warrants restrictions while Summit is not, he said.