Arapaho, Roosevelt National Forests Enter Fire Restrictions

Fire season is officially underway in Colorado.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests’ Clear Creek, Boulder and Canyon Lakes ranger districts are enacting Stage 1 fire restrictions due to the forecast of continuing dry, warm conditions, as well as recent wildfires.

Get our free mobile app

Fire restrictions for the mentioned areas went into effect at noon on Friday, Apr. 22; there is currently no set date and/or time as to when these restrictions will be rescinded.

As per the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service, the following is prohibited under Stage 1 Fire Restrictions:

• Igniting, building, maintaining, attending, or using a fire (including fires fueled by charcoal or briquettes) outside of a permanent metal or concrete fire pit or grate that the Forest Service has installed and maintained at its developed recreation sites (campgrounds and picnic areas)
• Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
• Operating a chainsaw without an effective and properly installed spark arrestor, a fire extinguisher kept with the operator and a shovel.
• Blasting, welding, or operating a torch with an open flame without being in a cleared area of at least 10 feet in diameter and having a fire extinguisher kept with the operator
• Using an explosive. This includes but is not limited to fuses, blasting caps, fireworks, rockets, exploding targets, tracers, and incendiary ammunition. (Fireworks are always prohibited on National Forest lands).

Violation of Stage 1 fire restrictions could result in a maximum fine of $5,000 for an individual or $10,000 for an organization, or imprisonment for more than six months, or both, the USDA says.

In addition, anyone who is responsible for causing a wildfire could be held accountable for any and all suppression costs of that fire.

For more information about Stage 1 fire restrictions in Colorado, visit fs.usda.gov.