Colorado is bracing for a long, hot summer and more than 80 percent of the state is already in abnormally dry to drought conditions, according to information from the state climatologist’s office this week presented during a statewide Water Availability Task Force meeting Tuesday.

Ouray County is one of the 40 counties named by Gov. Jared Polis to likely experience “severe impacts to their ecosystems and to various sectors of their economy, particularly agriculture,” according to a letter h...