-
Temperature forecasts from the National Weather Service.
Map from NOAA
-
A firefighter combats the Grizzly Creek Fire near Glenwood Springs.
Photo from Summit County
-
Aug. 4, 2020
Map from U.S. Drought Monitor
FRISCO — Summit County will go into Stage 2 fire restrictions Friday, Aug. 14.
The Summit Board of County Commissioners enacted the restrictions during a special meeting Thursday, Aug. 13, noting high fire danger in the area due to a lack of precipitation and higher temperatures, along with increased wildfire activity across the Western Slope.
“With Glenwood Canyon on fire and the fire burning north of Grand Junction, resources regionally are spread pretty thin right now,” said Steve Lipsher, a spokesperson for Summit Fire & EMS. “And so if we get a fire here, we’d be competing with those other fires with things like aircraft, firefighters, apparatus and more. When you put all of those things into the mixing bowl, you end up with a pretty heightened sense of threat.”
Under Stage 2 restrictions, fires are prohibited in picnic areas, campgrounds, private property and forested areas. The restrictions also ban the use of charcoal grills, fireworks, explosives, pile buns and more. Backyard campfires in chimneys or other outside fireplaces also will be prohibited, regardless of any previously held permit.
Use of gas and wood-pellet grills is allowed.
“These restrictions are necessary given the extreme fire conditions and no relief from the weather in sight,” White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams said in a news release. “We need to do all we can to prevent additional fire starts, and we really need the public to be extremely cognizant of the extreme fire danger.”
The forecast calls for below normal precipitation and high temperatures in Summit County over the next several weeks, according to the National Weather Service. And the U.S. Drought Monitor reports much of the county is in a moderate drought.
“As is typical at this time of year, our finer fuels like grasses and shrubs are drying out,” Lipsher said. “We haven’t gotten any substantial moisture. So our fuel moisture levels have dropped to the point where those are very susceptible to burning. When they get this dry, they burn hot, they burn fast and they spread.”
The county also has enacted a full closure of the Summit County Shooting Range in an effort to prevent ammunition from sparking a fire. Exploding targets and tracer ammunition are prohibited, as well.
Thanks to an intergovernmental agreement, the towns of Blue River, Breckenridge, Dillon, Frisco and Silverthorne also will all enter Stage 2 fire restrictions Friday, Aug. 14, along with the Dillon Ranger District of the White River National Forest. The Bureau of Land Management implemented Stage 2 fire restrictions Thursday on its managed lands in Summit and nearby counties.
All of Summit County’s law enforcement agencies will be enforcing the restrictions, according to the county. For more information about the fire restrictions, visit SummitCountyCo.gov/wildfire.
"stage" - Google News
August 14, 2020 at 07:06AM
https://ift.tt/3iF48Cc
Summit County enacts Stage 2 fire restrictions, closes shooting range - Summit Daily News
"stage" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2xC8vfG
https://ift.tt/2KXEObV
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Summit County enacts Stage 2 fire restrictions, closes shooting range - Summit Daily News"
Post a Comment