00:00Colorado is entering a dangerous stretch, and federal fire officials are sounding the alarm.
00:05The National Interagency Fire Center has rated wildfire potential for the state's west slope
00:11and front range as above normal through July,
00:14a warning driven by months of below-average rainfall and persistent drought.
00:19There's another compounding factor.
00:21Previously burned areas are now covered in dropped pine needles from dying trees,
00:26creating thick fuel loads that can reignite explosively under dry conditions.
00:30Fire officials say improvement isn't likely until multiple weeks of well-above-normal rainfall arrive,
00:37which forecasters consider unlikely in the near term.
00:40If you live in or near Colorado's mountains and foothills, this is not the time to delay.
00:45Clear defensible space around your home, know your evacuation route,
00:49and check the current burn restriction level in your county every single day this summer.
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