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.”
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