Fire Ban implemented in Larimer County

In the wake of the Picnic Rock fire, the Larimer County Board of

Commissioners has placed a fire ban in Larimer County.

The ban, effective through June 1, prohibits open fires and the

use of fireworks outside city limits. It was placed on a

recommendation from the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office because of

recent unusually dry conditions. The sheriff’s office and the board

of commissioners will reassess the fire ban June 1 to determine if

the ban should be lifted.

The ban allows contained campfires, as long as the fire is in a

campground. The contained fire must also be placed in a permanent

stationary fixture, such as a cooking grill or stove or

masonry.

“If you can knock it over or pick it up it’s not permanent,”

said Deni LaRue, community information manager for Larimer

County.

The dry weather and the Picnic Rock fire, which burned 8,900

acres through Poudre Canyon, have caused this year’s fire ban to be

placed earlier in the year than in the past. Last year Larimer

County implemented a fire ban July 21, and a fire ban was placed on

April 30 in 2002.

Violating the fire ban will result in a class-two petty offense

and an unspecified fine.

Shaun Hunter, a sophomore history major, said he does not expect

the ban to keep him from camping this summer.

“There’s been a ban the last couple of years,” he said. “It’s

disappointing but you gotta do what you gotta do.”

When junior Kara Wubbena goes camping near Rocky Mountain

National Park, she likes to roast marshmallows over a fire, but

with the fire ban, she will have to compensate with what she

has.

“We’ll pack up the lantern or the Bunsen burner,” said Wubbena,

a mechanical engineering major. “It’s not a fire, but it

works.”