COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) – Recent rounds of heavy rain, hail and thunderstorms have brought much-needed moisture to southern Colorado, but experts say the storms have done little to ease the region’s ongoing drought.

Much of southern Colorado remains in moderate to exceptional drought, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, with long-term moisture deficits continuing to impact soils and vegetation.

“A couple thunderstorms, a few days of off-and-on scattered rain, really isn’t going to do anything to fix that,” said Michael Garberoglio, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Pueblo.

Garberoglio said it will take widespread, sustained precipitation over weeks or months to significantly improve drought conditions.

“We need much more moisture over a much larger area for a much longer period of time to really start negating these exceptionally dry conditions we’ve been under,” he said.

The persistent drought is raising concerns ahead of the Fourth of July holiday, when many Coloradans are expected to celebrate with fireworks and outdoor gatherings.

“I really can’t understate the danger,” Garberoglio said. “It’s a very volatile situation. We just have not gotten enough water and it’s become frankly unsafe.”

He said fire danger can vary significantly from one location to another, even within the same county, meaning some areas remain dry enough for a single spark to ignite a wildfire.

“These fires can spread over multiple acres in just a couple of short minutes and can impact much more than anyone would initially expect,” Garberoglio said. “These little things can have months of impacts if people aren’t cautious.”

Garberoglio urged residents to follow local fire restrictions and guidance from emergency officials before using fireworks or participating in activities that could spark a fire.

“When you’re keeping things in mind and listening to the professionals, it’s not just for you, but you’re helping out your family, your neighbor,” he said.

DENVER (KDVR) — Fast-moving fires in western Colorado, including on the Colorado-Utah border, continue to burn Sunday afternoon.

On the Colorado-Utah border, the Snyder Mesa Fire has burned over 28,000 acres as of Sunday morning, prompting evacuations in Mesa County, officials reported. At that time, the fire was 0% contained.

The Snyder Mesa Fire broke out sometime Friday evening or Saturday morning, according to the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit. Several fires, including the Knowles and Gore fires, combined on Saturday to form the Snyder Mesa Fire.

Three federal firefighters died and two were injured while responding to the Knowles and Gore fires on Saturday.

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Ouray County has declared a state of emergency due to the Gold Mountain Fire. The fire sparked on Saturday on U.S. Forest Service land, according to the Ouray County Sheriff’s Office. The fire has triggered mandatory evacuation orders and roadway closures.

Ouray County officials reported the Gold Mountain Fire burned 560 acres as of 1:08 p.m.

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Three firefighters died and two were injured while tackling fires on the Colorado-Utah border, the U.S. Wildland Fire Service reported Sunday.

The agency — created earlier this year to streamline firefighting and fire reduction across public lands — said the firefighters had been part of an interagency response to the Knowles and Gore fires on Saturday.

“The U.S. Wildland Fire Service stands united with the USDA Forest Service in grief and in our unwavering support for the loved ones left behind. Their bravery, dedication, and sacrifice will never be forgotten,” it said in a statement on Facebook.

The agency said it would share more information when it is available to be released. 

Wildfire activity has intensified across the western United States, as consecutive days of hot, dry and windy weather have fueled flames in Utah, Arizona and elsewhere as new fires popped up across the region.

The largest blaze, the Cottonwood Fire, was burning in rugged terrain in southwest Utah. It ballooned Saturday to more than 144 square miles (373 square kilometers) after marching through canyons and mountainsides, destroying part of a ski resort and other summer cabins along the way.

Authorities in Beaver County began working with fire teams on Saturday to assess the extent of the damage, but no estimates were immediately available. Gov. Spencer Cox in a post on social media called it bleak, but he thanked crews for what he called “several miraculous stops and saves.”

The cliffs and steep slopes have made the job even harder, said Alyssa Mason, a spokesperson assigned to the fire.

“It’s hard to get dozers and other heavy equipment into that. It’s hard to get engines into that,” she said. “It doesn’t make it impossible to firefight, but it does just kind of slow things down.”

Hundreds of firefighters have been arriving in the arid state to battle new starts as well as those that have been growing because of what forecasters called critical fire weather — dangerously low humidity levels, warm temperatures and gusty winds.

The danger is even higher this year because of Utah’s record-low snowpack and its warmest winter on record. Much of the West is grappling with similar conditions, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

From Alaska to Florida, crews worked Saturday to corral dozens of fires, including three dozen that were classified as large and uncontained.

Nationally, nearly 3 million acres (1.2 million hectares) have burned since the start of the year. That is more than the 10-year average.

The conditions in Utah were critical enough for Gov. Spencer Cox to declare an emergency earlier this week and clear the way for the state to ban fireworks ahead of the July Fourth holiday. The order comes as Utah is experiencing one of the most severe wildfire seasons in recent history, fueled by historic drought conditions.

State officials said that over the past week, Utah has seen an increase in wildfire starts, with each fire showing unprecedented behavior. These starts have stretched the state’s wildland firefighting capabilities, State Forester Jamie Barnes said.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also declared an emergency on Saturday, and authorized the use of the National Guard to tackle the fires.

Forecasters with the National Weather Service over recent days have been issuing red flag warnings for a wide swath of the West, from California to Arizona and New Mexico.

South of Grand Canyon National Park, authorities said the flames of a new wildfire were moving away from Grand Canyon Village and the nearby community of Tusayan on Saturday. But about 50 miles (80 kilometers) away, another fire prompted Coconino County officials to issue evacuation orders for those near Kendrick Mountain.

Parts of northern Arizona were without power Saturday as the utility serving the area initiated a safety shut-off in hopes of lessening the wildfire risk.

Power shutoffs have become more common in the West as wildfire risk has expanded. It is usually a last resort after utility forecasters weigh factors like sustained wind and gust speeds, available fuels and topography.

With extreme fire conditions persisting in Utah, Rocky Mountain Power also shut off power lines serving Beaver County and other areas.