Dry weather brings fire restrictions

Virtually every agency in Colorado issued fire restrictions in June, as hot, dry weather continued and thousands of acres went up in smoke.

Kelly Close, fire behavior analyst with Poudre Fire Authority, said the foothills areas below 9,000 feet have "more severe danger than in 2000 or 2002." The Bobcat Fire occurred in 2000 in Larimer County.

According to the Rocky Mountain Coordination Center, 576 wildfires had already burned over 80,000 acres in Colorado as of June 21, over twice the acreage that was reported burned in all of 2005.

This is far from a typical year, according to Close. "The four weather stations in the north Front Range are setting new historic extremes," he said. The stations monitor moisture in large fuels such as downed trees, as well as the potential for fires to become big and difficult to control. Three of the four stations have been operating for 40 years and are reporting the worst conditions on record.

"The wild card is what we get for a monsoon season," Close noted. This wet spell typically arrives in mid- to late July and could bring some relief, but it might also bring lightning that could spark more fires.

While county, state and federal governments are urging citizens to be cautious with any type of fire, a person can still build a fire at developed recreation sites such as forest campgrounds. Citizens who live in residential-type neighborhoods in the unincorporated areas of Larimer County can operate a charcoal grill on a noncombustible surface at their residences. Details on county fire restrictions are available at www.larimer.org/news. They went into place June 2 and are set to continue through July 11.

Larimer County Commissioners also decided to ban the sale of fireworks in Larimer County. Regulations also prohibit the use of fireworks in the unincorporated portions of the county, except for displays produced by authorized community groups such as volunteer fire departments.

Gov. Bill Owens on June 21 banned open burning and fireworks on all state lands in Colorado. This includes all state parks and forests.

The ban on open burning on state land includes campfires, warming fires, charcoal grill fires, fireworks and "any other activity that poses a significant risk of starting a fire." The ban does not include permanent fire structures that have been built to diminish the risk of wildfires.

For the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest, acting forest supervisor Jackie Parks issued fire restrictions that prohibit building or maintaining open fires or campfires and restricts smoking on national forest system lands in Boulder, Larimer, Clear Creek, Jefferson and Gilpin counties. Fires are allowed in developed recreation sites such as campgrounds or picnic areas.