A storm Monday, July 27, brought rain and lightning to much of Summit County, resulting in at least one fire. Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons said responders put out the fire north of Silverthorne and responded to reports of several others.

Matt Benedict, division chief of wildfire and community preparedness with the Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District, wrote in an email that officials are waiting to see if there are any “hold overs,” or smoldering fires caused by lightning strikes that avoid detection, sometimes for several days, before growing.

To look for “hold overs,” the Colorado Division of Wildfire Prevention and Control will fly a multi-mission aircraft over Summit County. Benedict wrote that the “detection flight” uses sensitive cameras to find small fires and send officials their exact coordinates, allowing ground crews to investigate and extinguish them.

“We’re ready to react to those, obviously, if they detect any,” FitzSimons said.

FitzSimons said the Sheriff’s Office has received 22 calls about potential fires this week and seven about smoke sightings. There were no confirmed fires over the last week, as the fire Monday will be included in the next weekly total.

The Sheriff made no recommendation to change fire restrictions in the county, saying all the other jurisdictions in the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit are remaining in Stage 2 restrictions as well.

Benedict wrote that the fire danger rating will stay at very high, adding that forecasts predict Summit County will return to a dry weather pattern later this week.