Colorado’s fire risk for the upcoming season is average, Gov. Jared Polis said at a late April news conference. But average means there will be many wildfires in the state and they will likely be large, fire officials emphasized.

“Today, it’s more a question of when, not if, a fire will affect our community,” Polis said.

In the short term, there’s heightened wildfire risk in southeast Colorado, then later in the summer, heightened risk in southwest Colorado, fire officials said.

Stan Hilkey, the executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety, said the “normal” fire outlook should be taken cautiously.

“I want to be cautious by what I mean by normal,” he said. “That means that we’ve had fires and we’re going to continue to have fires. Some will be big and we’re going to be busy, and that’s what normal looks like in Colorado anymore.”

Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control Director Mike Morgan added that fire season in Colorado has changed over the years.

“We used to look at fire season as about a four month period and that’s no longer the case,” Morgan said. “We have fire disasters every month of the year in the state of Colorado and we can’t afford to let our guard down.”

In a normal season, Colorado will have about 6,000 wildfires that burn about 160,000 acres, Morgan said.

Staff cuts have not affected firefighters and emergency personnel, said Doug Vilsack, the state director for the Bureau of Land Management.

Colorado’s firefighters are “ready” for the season, Hilkey said, adding that individual and community preparedness is equally important.

On average across the county, human-caused wildfires make up 90% of all wildfires each year, he said. Firefighters need the public’s help to make sure campfires are put out completely and fire warnings and restrictions are taken seriously.

Hilkey also urged the public to make sure they’re signed up for local alerts and have plans for preparedness and evacuation in case of a fire. He also asked that people respect fire closures when they happen.

“Our moto at the Department of Public Safety is we’re safer together,” he said. “When we work together with you, we can make Colorado a safe place to be.”

Colorado State Forest Service Director Matt McCombs added that they know from experience that mitigation efforts work, and there are measures homeowners can take around their homes to mitigate fire impacts.

McCombs pointed to a fire that started last July near Breckenridge. Thanks to mitigation work done prior to the fire, firefighters were able to keep the fire to an acre and protect the nearby homes, he said.