COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. -- It's going to be a high-risk summer for fires in El Paso County. High temperatures, high winds and dry vegetation have impacted fires near Trinidad, in Pinon Canyon and Teller County. Right now, the most serious conditions are to the east and southeast where they're experiencing a serious drought.
"Resources are stretched so thin that we don't have the capability to access resources we would have two months ago," Terry Maketa, El Paso County Sheriff, said. "They're really consumed, whether it's aerial support or additional ground support."
While firefighters do have the opportunity to request deployed state assistance, they have another challenge - there is no El Paso County wildland fire budget.
"I don't have a budget for fighting fires, it's one of those things that goes beyond my general fund funding," Maketa said.
The sheriff said in years past they've used emergency county funding and shifted their existing budget to cover costs.
The county also pays into a state emergency fire fund.
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