Area Fire Bans Discussion and Updates.

KUSA - By Tuesday afternoon, 13 Colorado counties and one American Indian reservation had enacted bans on burning, according to information provided by the Division of Fire Safety. An official with Jefferson County says a lot of the decision-makers in other areas had the same thought in mind.



"Watching the fires (in Boulder and Loveland) in these neighboring jurisdictions is horrible to watch," Jefferson County Public Information Officer Jacki Kelley said.

That's why authorities in Jefferson County have enacted their first wide-sweeping fire ban since 2008. It applies to federal, public and private land in the unincorporated areas of the county.

"Our grasses, our shrubs, our trees, they're horribly dry right now," Kelley said.

By Tuesday afternoon, Douglas County had also added its name to the list of counties with fire bans. The city of Golden announced plans to enforce a ban beginning Wednesday. Arvada also announced plans for a burn ban on Tuesday.

Full Article

Unfortunately, Platte Canyon Fire Protection District does not utilize their website to get information to the public. I called them to find out if there was a ban in place, my post was based upon that phone call.

I wonder if the gov. will issue a statewide ban for the weekend. Scary to think all of those campers up there with their careless fires in these conditions....

Not only are the CARELESS CAMPERS a concern, but how about the neighbor(i have one) that burns the UNATTENDED FIRE and also, what about the other neighbor whose insistant on BURNING with NO PERMIT ?? Can't get EITHER the Sheriff or Platte Canyon to ticket, or fine or just TAKE AWAY the one permit..!! What's it take to get LAW ENFORCEMENT TO PAY ATTENTION???

Fire Ban Information
Park County Fire Ban and Wildfire Information
STATUS: Park County is in a Stage I Fire Ban effective 9:00 am, Thursday, September 16, 2010 until rescinded.

The following acts are prohibited on all private property, public land, roads and trails described herein, until further notice:

Building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire or campfire except a fire within a permanent constructed fire grate in a developed campground.
Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
Exemptions

Persons with a written permit that specifically authorizes the other wise prohibited act.
Persons using a fire solely fueled by liquid petroleum or LPG fuels.
Persons conducting activities in those designated areas where the activity is specifically authorized by written posted notice.
Any federal, state or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the performance of an official duty.
What is a Stage I and Stage II Fire Ban?

Stage I and Stage II Fire Ban Information

Source

PIKE NATIONAL FOREST
Pikes Peak, South Park and South Platte Ranger Districts
Colorado
Order No. 10-13
FOREST ORDER
Fire and Smoking Restrictions
Pursuant to 16 U.S.C. 551 and 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(a), the following acts are prohibited on all National Forest System lands administered by the Pike National Forest located within Clear Creek, Douglas, EI Paso, Jefferson, Park and Teller Counties in Colorado (the "Restricted Area"). The Restricted Area is depicted on the attached map hereby incorporated into this Order as Exhibit A. The purpose of this Order is to protect public health and safety.
PROHIBITIONS:
1. Building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire or stove fire. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(a) (This prohibition includes, but is a not limited to charcoal grills, hibachis, and coal or wood-burning stoves.)
EXCEPTIONS: Campfires are permitted in Forest Service-developed campgrounds and picnic grounds, and only in Forest Service-provided, manufactured fire grates and grills. Petroleum fueled stoves, lanterns, or heating devices are allowed on all National Forest System lands, provided such devices meet the fire underwriter's specifications for safety.
2. Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three (3) feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable material. 36 C.F.R. § 261.52(d)
EXEMPTIONS:
Pursuant to 36 C.F.R. § 261.50(e), the following persons are exempt from this Order:
3.
Persons with a Forest Service permit specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission.
4.
Resident owners, lessees of land, and holders of Forest Service recreational use authorizations, within the restricted area are exempt from Prohibition 1 above, provided such fires are within a permanent structure.
5.
Any Federal, State, or local officer, or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force in the
performance of an official duty.
This Order will be in effect from 1800 MT on September 16, 2010, continuing through December 31,2010, or until rescinded, whichever event occurs first.
Executed at Pueblo, Colorado, this 16th day of September. 2010.
JOHN F. PETERSON Acting Forest Supervisor Pike and San Isabel National Forests Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands
Violations of these prohibitions are punishable as a Class 8 misdemeanor by a fine of not more than $5000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for not more than 6 months, or both. (16 U.S.C. § 551 and 18 U.S.C §§ 3559 and 3571).

Map

Source

Release Date: 09/17/10
Contacts: Barb Timock, Public Affairs Officer USFS, 719-553-1415, Cass Cairns, Public Affairs Officer BLM, 719-269-8553



U.S. Forest Service and BLM Begin Fire restrictions (09-16-10)


PUEBLO, Colo., Sept. 16, 2010 – Extremely dry conditions have prompted the U.S. Forest Service – Pike National Forest and the Bureau of Land Management Royal Gorge Field Office to implement Stage 1 fire restrictions beginning 6 p.m. tonight until conditions improve. Both the BLM and USFS orders restrict fire and smoking on federal public lands to protect public health and safety.
The lack of precipitation in the last month, coupled with recent windy days, has led to forest fuels drying faster than normal for this time of year and rapidly increasing the fire danger. These factors, combined with weather forecasts that show little relief have necessitated the need for fire restrictions until conditions moderate.
Stage 1 fire restrictions apply to all National Forest System lands administered by the Pike National Forest located within Clear Creek, Douglas, El Paso, Jefferson, Park, and Teller counties in Colorado. These restrictions also apply to all BLM lands within Boulder, El Paso, Fremont, Gilpin, Larimer, Park, and Teller counties.
Prohibitions include building, maintaining, attending or using a fire, campfire or open fire of any type in undeveloped areas. This includes, but is a not limited to, charcoal grills, hibachis, and coal or wood burning stoves.
Smoking is only permitted in an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
Visitors to the Pike National Forest and lands administered by the Royal Gorge Field Office, within the previously stated counties, are allowed to have campfires in developed campgrounds and picnic grounds, and only in agency-provided manufactured fire grates and grills. The orders allow cooking stoves and other appliances fueled by liquid petroleum or bottled fuel that are equipped with a valve, which allows the operator to turn the flame on or off.
BLM Stage 1 restrictions also prohibit all fireworks activity and use on BLM lands. Possession and use of fireworks are always prohibited on National Forest System lands.
The full text of the Order for the Pike National Forest is posted on the web at: http://fs.usda.gov/goto/psicc .
The full text of the Order for the Royal Gorge Field Office is posted at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/rgfo.html .
For more information contact your local Pike National Forest District Offices: South Platte Ranger District, 303-275-5610; South Park Ranger District, 719-836-2031; Pikes Peak Ranger District, 719-636-1602, or the BLM Royal Gorge Field Office, 719-269-8500.

Source

I believe Clear Creek and Gilpin and Colorado Springs have bans.

Per Larimer County:

The following information update has been made for: Fort Collins Hay Fire

Here is a reprint from the Poudre Fire authority Public Information Officer regarding the hay bale fire in northwest Fort Collins. For some, the smell is reminiscent of childhood when everyone burned fall leaves on the curb; for others, merely an obnoxious pollutant. One way or another, it will be with us for a while:
Poudre Fire Authority is currently on scene of a large hay fire in the area of Doubletree Drive and North Overland Trail, northwest of Fort Collins. Crews have been on scene since before 2:00 a.m. this morning. The smoke has settled in an area generally west of College Avenue and drifted as far south as Loveland. Citizens may smell this smoke for most of this morning and throughout the day.

Please do not call 911 regarding this smoke unless you think it is coming from a separate incident.

For citizens who are bothered by smoke and/or have preexisting medical conditions which may be exacerbated due to smoke, please take some precautions such as: stay indoors, close windows and doors in your home and turn off the heating, ventilation and air conditioning system. If you feel ill, please seek medical help.

And from our county's Environmental Health folks:
Apparently the plan is to let this burn throughout the day/weekend - an appropriate response for large hay fires. About 6000 bales involved. State Health will adjust the daily Smoke Management webpage to include the Ft. Collins health advisory. Ambient temperature air inversion's during the evening will invariably cause the plume/haze at ground level to increase overnight. Poudre Schools have been advised to take appropriate precautions with outdoor activities.
One more thing, there has been some confusing language identified in the County's burning restrictions. Rather than go into specific detail, it will suffice merely to state that this is not a full ban, that "Fires in permanently constructed stationary masonry or metal fireplaces specifically designed for the purpose of combustion" (such as in campgrounds,etc.) are still allowed. That is a fundamental difference between a ban and "fire restrictions", the latter being the original intent of the Commissioners. Sorry for the confusion. If there are any questions on this, call Emergency Management at 498-5310. We will cure the contradiction in the original resolution today. We have a warm dry weekend coming up and fire is still a real danger. Let's all be careful.

For complete information on this emergency, see
http://www.larimer.org/emergency/emerge ... ?nam_id=68

Fire Ban Lifted; Temporary Fire Restrictions in Place
Jefferson County Sheriff's Office E-mail Alert

October 14, 2010
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Effective Thursday, October 14th, temporary fire restrictions were issued for all areas of unincorporated Jefferson County. These restrictions are intended to reduce the likelihood of human caused wildfires. The fire restrictions supersede the fire ban which was implemented on September 14, 2010.



These restrictions prohibit fires except in a permanent fire grate in a park, campground or picnic area. Charcoal grills are permitted in residential neighborhoods provided the appropriate safety precautions are taken. For complete details on the new fire restrictions, visit our website here .