With summer around the corner, fire season also looms. This year's wet spring has delayed the onset of wildfires compared to last year, but that doesn't necessarily mean the fire season will be less intense than normal. Wyoming State Forester Bill Crapser says fire season can be very hard to predict.
"I probably could make a lot more money at Las Vegas than I could betting what kind of fire season I'm going to have," he joked.
Despite a wet May in 2018, last year's fire season started in early June.
"The wet spring can help you, it slows it up. But the flip side of that is it grows grass. And then you get a lot of grass and if it dries off and the grass all cures out, then you've got a lot more fuel out there," Crapser said. "So the wet spring can help you and it can hurt you depending on what the weather does in June, July, and August."
This year, Crapser says that current fire predictions are below average fire for June and average fire for July, August and September. He says while there will likely be fires around the state, they probably won't be to the extent seen last year.
