From AAA — Cars Can Spark Wildfires: How To Stay Safe This Fire Season

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Skyler McKinley

Regional Director, Public Affairs

AAA – The Auto Club Group

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Cars Can Spark Wildfires. Here’s How To Stay Safe This Fire Season

As drought deepens and red-flag warnings pile up, the most preventable wildfire risk may be sitting in your driveway.

DENVER (June 17, 2026) — As Colorado heads into a risky stretch of a dangerous fire year, drivers should understand that more than 90% of Colorado fires are human-caused – and that cars, trucks, and trailers in their driveways are part of that risk.

The majority of Colorado’s 64 counties have imposed fire restrictions, with the National Weather Service issuing red-flag warnings at a rate not seen in at least two decades. Today will mark the hottest day of the year in Colorado so far.

Only about 7% of wildfires are caused by lightning, according to estimates from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. That means that just about everything else – a campfire, a cigarette, a spark – traces back to human action or inaction, including when it comes to the cars, trucks, and trailers that Coloradans drive every day.

“On a red-flag day, dry grass doesn’t need a campfire or a downed line to catch and spread. All it takes is a single spark, including from a car,” said Skyler McKinley, regional director of public affairs for AAA and president of the Oak Creek Fire Protection District in Routt County, Colorado. “The good news is that the most common ways a driver can start a fire are also the easiest to prevent: Secure your chains, check your tires, and never ash your cigarettes outside your car.”

How drivers start fires

Cars and related equipment cause enough wildfires that the National Interagency Fire Center treats them as their own distinct ignition category, with several key considerations:

• Dragging chains and metal parts. A trailer’s safety chains, a loose muffler, improperly secured cargo, or anything hanging beneath or falling off a vehicle can scrape the pavement, potentially throwing sparks for miles.
• Driving on a flat or an exposed rim. Driving on a flat tire runs the risk of extreme friction heat, shredding the tire and igniting the rubber. And an exposed metal rim grinding against asphalt can easily spark.
• Hot exhaust and catalytic converters. The underside of a running vehicle can get hot enough to ignite dry grass on contact when drivers pull off into tall, dead vegetation to park or turn around.
• Worn brakes and mechanical failures. Brakes worn to the metal, faulty wiring, and other neglected maintenance can all produce sparks or heat.
• Cigarette butts and ashes. Improperly discarded smoking materials are a leading cause of wildfires nationwide.

What drivers can do to prevent wildfires

AAA urges every Colorado driver to treat the vehicle as fire equipment, something that can either start a fire or help prevent one.

• Secure your tow chains. Always cross trailer safety chains under the hitch to form an X. Use the right length, and make sure they cannot drag. Check the chains at every stop.
• Look underneath. Before a trip, confirm nothing is hanging or dragging, such as exhaust components, heat shields, straps, or chains.
• Secure your load. A shovel, a length of chain, or any piece of equipment that shifts on a trailer or bounces off a truck bed can drag on or strike the pavement and throw sparks, on top of being a road hazard. Tie everything down, recheck anything metal before you pull out, and check your load at every stop.
• Keep tires properly inflated, and never drive on a rim. Correct pressure prevents blowouts. Fill up tires to the pressure number listed on the door jamb or in the owner’s manual in the cool of the morning before heading out.
• Don’t park or drive over dry grass. The heat from your undercarriage and catalytic converter is enough to ignite it. Use pullouts and bare ground.
• Keep up with maintenance. Brakes, wiring, and a properly functioning exhaust system are fire-prevention measures as much as reliability ones. Find a AAA Approved Auto Repair facility at AAA.com/AutoRepair.
• Dispose of cigarette butts and ash properly. Never throw any part of a lit or extinguished cigarette from a car window. Use your vehicle’s ashtray or an airtight container.
• Carry a fire extinguisher. A small ABC extinguisher, plus water and a shovel, can stop a roadside spot fire before it becomes a headline.
• On red-flag days, postpone what you can. If you can delay towing, hauling, or roadside equipment work until conditions ease, do it.

If you see a fire – or drive into one

Spotting a new fire early can save acres – and lives.

• Report it immediately. Call 911 with the most precise location you can give, such as a mile marker, cross street, or highway exit, plus the direction the smoke and flames are moving.
• Don’t try to fight a spreading wildfire. If a small fire has just started and it is plainly safe to act, an extinguisher may help. If there is any doubt, get to safety and let the professionals respond.
• Don’t drive into heavy, dark smoke if you can avoid it. Visibility can drop to nothing without warning.
• Slow down and increase your following distance in smoke, just as you would in heavy snow or fog. Turn your headlights on, keep windows up, and set the climate system to recirculate to keep smoke out of the cabin.
• Stay out of the shoulder. In a fire-related backup, the shoulder is how engines and crews reach the fire. Hold your lane.
• Heed evacuation orders. Colorado fire agencies promote the “Ready, Set, Go!” approach: Be ready with a plan and a packed vehicle, get set when a red-flag warning or nearby fire raises the threat, and go the instant an order is issued. Sign up for your county’s emergency alerts and check CoTrip.org for closures before you travel.

“Colorado’s historically dry winter made for a slow season for our neighbors in the high country,” McKinley said. “Luckily, the summer marks the perfect time to make it up with a classic Colorado road trip, and a few key fire-safety checks on your vehicle before you head out can keep the mountains we’re driving to and through as magical as ever.”

About AAA – The Auto Club Group

The Auto Club Group (ACG), named a 2026 Forbes Most Trusted Company in America, is the second-largest AAA club in North America, with more than 13 million members across 14 U.S. states and two U.S. territories. ACG and its affiliates provide members with roadside assistance, insurance products, financial services, travel offerings, and more. ACG is part of the national AAA federation, which serves more than 66 million members across the United States and Canada. AAA’s mission is to protect and advance freedom of mobility and improve traffic safety. For more information, download the AAA Mobile app, visit AAA.com, and follow us on social media.

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