After a hot start to the wildfire season across Colorado, wildland firefighters and emergency managers in the mountains are hoping that monsoonal rains might give them room to breathe. The monsoon season is underway bringing hope of moisture, but wildfire officials say that the fire danger will be slow to disappear amid a historic drought. Western Slope wildfire officials are hoping that a wet monsoon season could help tamp down on the fire danger, but are warning that deep drought means that the risk of wildfires remains. In recent years, the wildfire season in Colorado has sometimes lingered deep into September or October, and it could again this year, depending on how the monsoon plays out, according to wildfire officials. “Hopefully the rains are going to make a big impact but until the dirt gets truly saturated, it’s pretty superficial,” Benedict said.