Colorado residents can expect a normal year for wildfires through July, but state officials on Wednesday warned that doesn’t mean there won’t be large, potentially catastrophic fires — especially later this summer and early fall as the weather becomes hotter and drier. The fire forecast through July calls for normal wildfire conditions, thanks to an average snowpack in the mountains combined with temperatures a shade above average and moisture slightly below average, said Michael Morgan, director of the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. Those conditions “tell us we would probably have what will be a normal or average fire season, which is about 5,500 fires burning about 220,000 acres,” Morgan said during a news conference in Broomfield about the state’s 2024 wildfire outlook. Southeastern Colorado and the San Luis Valley could see a higher number of wildfires earlier this year because of drier conditions, he said. However, the weather forecast for late summer and early fall is concerning, Morgan said.