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Monsoonal rains bolster Summit County moisture levels; no fire restrictions recommended

Rain clouds above Chihuahua Lake are pictured on Sunday June 19, 2022, as afternoon rains moved into the area.
Eiliana Wright/Summit Daily News archive

There was no recommendation for fire restrictions in Summit County this week thanks to recent rains.

Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons made that decision at Tuesday’s Board of County Commissioners work session based on guidelines from the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit.

The energy release components, which are dead fuels that could be burned in a wildfire, are still just below the 90th percentile. FitzSimons said the monsoonal rains helped to keep them under the threshold.



FitzSimons said, similar to previous days, that more monsoonal rains are expected from Wednesday, June 22, through Friday, June 24.

The 14-day outlook calls for near-normal temperatures and above average precipitation. The three-month outlook predicts average temperature and below average precipitation.



Live fuel moistures, which are the moisture levels within a plant that has the potential to be burned in a wildfire, are below average. However, FitzSimons said they are still under the threshold to which they would trigger a restriction.


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