It wasn’t that long ago I though to myself: wow, Colorado is going to have a wildfire-free summer. Then came July 31st. Since then, four wildfires–Pine Gulch, Grizzly Creek, Cameron Peak, and Williams Fork–have burned over 120,000 acres in parts of western, central, and northern Colorado. Smoke from the fires has marred air quality in every part of the state, including Pueblo.

While all four fires are burning in rugged terrain, the Grizzly Creek fire has impacted the state the most, forcing the clousure of Interstate-70, the main atery connecting Colorado’s Front Range with its Western Slope. Drivers seeking an alternate Denver-Grand Junction route have clogged Independence Pass, a narrow, windy, 12,000-foot high two-lane road between Twin Lakes and Aspen.

So far this summer southern Colorado has been sparred from significant fire activity. But at the rate things are going, it could just be a matter of time before the area has its turn to burn.