Forest Service, Eagle County moving back to stage 1 fire restrictions

Eagle County and the U.S. Forest Service are moving from stage 2 fire restrictions back to less-restrictive stage 2 restrictions. Here’s Wednesday’s press release from the Forest Service:

GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. – All lands managed by the White River National Forest and lands in Eagle, Garfield, Pitkin and Summit counties managed by the Bureau of Land Management will be under stage 1 fire restrictions beginning Friday, July 9.

Unincorporated private lands in Eagle, Pitkin and Summit counties will also move into stage 1 restrictions Friday. Unincorporated private lands in Garfield and Mesa counties and lands in the BLM Grand Junction Field Office are currently under stage 1 restrictions and will remain so. Unincorporated and BLM-managed lands in Rio Blanco County will remain in stage 2 fire restrictions.  

The primary difference between the two stages of restrictions for people recreating on public land is that under stage 1, campfires and charcoal are allowed only in designated, metal fire grates in developed campgrounds and picnic areas. Under stage 2, no campfires or charcoal are allowed anywhere. 

Petroleum-fueled camping equipment such as stoves and lanterns are allowed under both stages of restrictions as long as there is a shut-off valve. Fireworks, exploding targets, tracer rounds and other explosive materials are not allowed anytime on National Forest System or BLM lands.

“The recent rains have provided us some relief from extreme conditions, so we are lowering fire restrictions,” said White River National Forest Supervisor Scott Fitzwilliams. “Although the fire danger has lessened, people will still need to be vigilant with campfires in the areas where they are allowed.”

“Fuel conditions can change quickly on BLM-managed lands We will continuing to monitor conditions to see if they hold, further improve, or worsen over the next couple of weeks. We’ll adjust fire restrictions accordingly,” said BLM Colorado River Valley Field Manager Larry Sandoval.

Officials consider a number of criteria when determining the need for fire restrictions, including current and anticipated fire danger, resource availability, and consistency with neighboring jurisdictions. Local, county, state and federal officials within the UCR area evaluate and coordinate fire restrictions weekly during fire season.

For specific fire restriction orders, visit www.fs.usda.gov/whiteriver or www.blm.gov.