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Eagle County — The local weather forecast for the next few days is dry and windy with chances of lightning - it's not quite red alert level for local fire protection agencies, but it's getting close.

"It's fire weather for sure," said Ross Wilmore, with the U.S. Forest Service.

Colorado wildfires have been on the rise in recent weeks, and local fire officials are paying close attention to the fire danger. Depending on the area, the fire risk in the White River National Forest is high, very high or extreme, Wilmore said.

"We're looking at the wind blowing maybe into Sunday, and there's a couple of fronts coming through - for that reason we are concerned with fire danger," he said. We want people to "be really careful this weekend out in the backcountry with fire - it will be hot, dry and windy."

Heavy rains in June and July actually have made fire fuels a little bit worse, said Charlie Moore, fire chief at the Eagle River Fire Protection District. The extra fuels aren't necessarily a major risk, he said, but they could help a fire burn more intensely.

"It's not that uncommon to see high fire risk in August and September," Moore said. "It's pretty normal, actually."

This is the time when all the fire preparations that local fire officials have warned about for months become really important, said Eric Lovgren, Eagle County's fire mitigation specialist. Things like pulling back brush and weeds around homes and getting rid of other flammable materials around homes are extremely important, he said.

Residents need to take it upon themselves to know how to protect themselves and their homes, said Mark Miller, the Vail fire chief. Vail and Eagle County's Firewise programs send fire experts to homes to look at the dangers. Miller said more people took advantage of the program last year but that residents still can schedule an appointment for the free service.

"Each homeowner needs to have a self-awareness," Miller said.