Park County Under Mandatory Fire Ban, Officials Say They've Been 'Lucky'
FAIRPLAY, Colo. (CBS4) - Extreme heat, a lack of new moisture, wind and low humidity are all creating very dangerous fire conditions in Park County.
The Park County Sheriff's Office issued a county-wide fire ban Sunday. It includes all open flames and burning.
"We have already been extremely lucky with several grass fires in recent weeks," a fire official in Fairplay told CBS4's Matt Kroschel Monday afternoon.
The fire ban includes things like smoking outdoors, running chainsaws, and other activities that could spark a blaze.
"Especially up here where the wind blows all the time and things dry out very quickly," North-West Fire Protection District Chief Kristy Olme said. "Since the first of March I believe we've have had about 15 grass fires in the county."
Campers are just now finding out about the ban. Firewood will have to go unburned at least until conditions change. The ban includes every open flame and driving off established roads.
"We've seen higher than normal temperatures in this area and very, very low (relative humidity) -- down in the single digits -- and that is something that is a very bad combination when we are talking about fires," Olme said.
Firefighters are in high alert. Elsewhere across the state fires popped up over the weekend. One broke out in southwest Colorado in the San Juan National Forest and another in Garfield County.
With even higher temperatures forecasted for Tuesday firefighters say they are hoping people obey the ban.
LINKS: Fire Bans & Danger (Interactive Map) | Park County Burn Ban Information
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