La Plata County lifted Stage 1 fire restrictions Tuesday after a steady monsoon decreased fire danger in the area.
For La Plata County visitors and residents, that means campfires, open burning and other previously restricted activities are allowed in the county. Fire experts and county officials, however, urged people to continue to use caution when burning.
“Even though we’re lifting the fire restrictions, that doesn’t mean a fire couldn’t happen,” said Hal Doughty, fire chief with Durango Fire Protection District. “We’re still asking people to use good judgment.”
La Plata County’s Stage 1 fire restrictions limited smoking, welding and flaring for oil and gas production. They also prohibited open burning, fireworks, use of internal combustion engines and floating sky lanterns, all with some exceptions.
The fire restrictions were originally enacted June 16 to mitigate the high degree of fire danger that existed in La Plata County because of a lack of precipitation and extremely dry conditions.
Since late June, consistent rain showers have helped La Plata County’s fire conditions. Local fire districts, represented by John Lee, chief of Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Protection District, recommended lifting those restrictions during a county commissioner meeting Tuesday.
“This rain isn’t going to stay and cause it so that we won’t have something potentially later on in the summer, but it has relieved that urgency now,” Lee said.
The fire districts considered factors such as soil moisture and moisture in grasses, sagebrush, juniper trees, ponderosa pines and other fuels.
There were hundreds of lightning strikes in the county Monday night, Doughty said in an interview with The Durango Herald. However, moisture content is high enough that resulting fires did not extend beyond the original strike area.
The Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to lift the restrictions during the meeting. The decision applies to all private lands in the unincorporated areas of La Plata County. It excludes private lands in Bayfield, Ignacio, Durango, federal and tribal lands, according to a county news release.
The San Juan National Forest dropped fire restrictions July 22. The Southern Ute Indian Tribe plans to lift its Stage 1 fire restrictions Wednesday, according to spokeswoman Lindsay Box.
The Bureau of Land Management Tres Rios Field Office was still in Stage 1 fire restrictions as of Tuesday. That includes the Canyons of the Ancients National Monument and scattered BLM lands near Durango.
Fire danger remains high, especially south of U.S. Highway 160 in La Plata County, and new lightning fires are being reported daily, even in higher elevations where more rain has fallen, according to a county news release Tuesday.
Going forward, La Plata County will automatically implement Stage 1 fire restrictions on Red Flag warning days without further action by the commissioners or sheriff. Red Flag warnings indicate that fire danger is high and that wildfires can quickly spread out of control.
Although the fire restrictions have been lifted, residents must obtain a permit from their local fire department when they plan to burn, the news release said.
Immediately before any burn, residents should call dispatch at 385-2900 (or 563-4401 for residents near Ignacio) so dispatchers may relay information about the burn being conducted.
Burn permits are not required for agricultural burns on land designated as agricultural by the Assessor’s Office.
There is also no permit required for recreational fires, which are defined as “an outdoor fire burning materials other than rubbish where the fuel being burned is not contained in an incinerator, outdoor fireplace, barbecue grill or barbecue pit and has a total fuel area of 3 feet or less in diameter and 2 feet or less in height for pleasure, religious, ceremonial, cooking, warmth or similar purposes.”
A 25-foot setback from structures is required for recreational fires, the news release said.
smullane@durangoherald.com
