Gunnison County fire restrictions starting May 21

Municipalities can still hold Fourth of July fireworks

Gunnison County is implementing Stage 1 fire restrictions for the first time since 2006. A resolution approved by the County Commissioners this week goes into effect on May 21 and prohibits open burning, private use of fireworks, open charcoal or wood fires, ditch burning and the burning of trash and debris in unincorporated sections of the county.

The restrictions do allow for some recreational fires within the county. According to Dennis Spritzer, Gunnison fire marshal, liquid or gas fired stoves, charcoal grill fires, wood burning stoves, fireplaces and small recreational fires within fire pits at developed campgrounds are still okay. An exception has also been included for the city of Gunnison and the towns of Crested Butte and Mt. Crested Butte to host 4th of July fireworks, provided that on-the-ground conditions don’t get even drier.
“The next stage is Stage 2, and that’s where there is absolutely no burning. It affects the charcoal grills and the gas grills. I don’t believe we’ll have to go to that stage. We’ve only done it once in my career and that was in 2002,” Spritzer told the commissioners.
Spritzer joined county emergency manager Scott Morrill and deputy undersheriff Randy Barnes in recommending the fire restrictions because the county is under a severe drought. But BLM Gunnison field manager Brian St. George did express some concern over the timing of the implementation. He assured the commissioners that the BLM will stand in full support of the decision but asked that implementation be delayed until early June.
“I am going to be the lone voice of caution in engaging this,” St. George said, “but there are real economic impacts.” He went on to say that Memorial Day Weekend has a big impact on Hartman Rocks Recreation area. He expects campgrounds to be full and said enforcing the fire restrictions will take a big BLM enforcement presence.
“It’s beyond Hartman’s,” St. George continued. “There is a real economic impact when folks on the Front Range see fire ban. They don’t see Stage 1, they don’t see Stage 2. They don’t know the differences. They see fire ban,” St. George said. While conditions need to be monitored, he pointed out that some counties, like Hinsdale and Saguache, are holding off.
Commissioner Hap Channell asked for the Forest Service perspective on the fire ban. Fire management officer Jerry Chonka said he was in support of the measure.
“I think this is probably as bad or worse than the drought year of 2002 from a fuel moisture standpoint. The live or dead fuel moistures are at or below 2002. We’ve had some [precipitation] in the past couple weeks here and there… but it’s going to take just a couple of days and we’re going to be back at square one again,” Chonka said.
Last weekend the Forest Service responded to a fire in Soap Creek that burned 18 inches into the ground. According to Chonka, that’s something rarely seen this early in the season.
Channell thanked St. George for pointing out the broader implications of the fire restrictions but said that he was inclined to support the recommendation.
“We need to be sensitive about the timing, obviously, but boy I’ll tell you if something happens and we don’t have a fire ban, that’s scary,” Channell said.
Additional restrictions dictate that smoking take place in an enclosed area like a vehicle or trailer, developed recreation sites or stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter and cleared of all flammable material. Explosives, operating chainsaws without spark arresters and fire extinguishers, and certain types of welding are also prohibited.