The first fire ban of summer is right around the corner.
Summit County commissioners today voted to ban backcountry campfires starting Friday June 27. Most of the White River National Forest is doing the same, according to sheriff Jaime FitzSimons.
It’s known as a Stage One fire ban, and in recent years it has become the norm in the weeks leading up to Fourth of July.
“An imminent threat of destructive wildfire exists in Summit County,” reads a county resolution from June 24. “The board of county commissioners should take immediate action to ban open fires and the use of any fireworks in Summit County.”
Also outlawed are these:
- Smoking outside of a building, vehicle or designated smoking area
- Fireworks
- Explosives, including tracer ammunition
- Chainsaws without a spark arrestor
- Blasting, welding, grinding or operating a torch without a 10-foot fire buffer
What is allowed?
Under a Stage One fire ban campfires are allowed at established campgrounds inside of a fire ring or at a backyard fire pit with a permit.
All of this is also allowed:
- Liquid or gas-fueled fire pits with shut-off valves
- Indoor fires
- Agricultural and large pile burns with permits
- Slash burns with permits
- Administrative fires, like those for fire mitigation
- Hot air balloons
- Off-highway vehicles
Permits are required year-round for fire pits on personal property in Summit. Fireworks are always banned in local towns and on Forest Service property nationwide.