The relationship between drought and wildfires in Colorado

It had been a brutal summer. After a dreadful snowpack season, the heat and dryness came on quickly. The U.S. Drought Monitor showed the state with widespread D2 and D3 drought. Watering restrictions were put in place. And then the big fire started. The governor at the time famously told reporters that "it looks as if all of Colorado is burning today." I had recently graduated with my Bachelor's Degree in Meteorology from Metro State University of Denver. I remember a day when the sun looked like a dim orange ball in the sky and ash fell on my new Mitsubishi Eclipse.