As the nearby Oak Ridge fire reaches close to 10,000 acres in Navajo Nation, the Montezuma County Board of County Commissioners reinstated fire restrictions Tuesday morning, citing drying fuels and drought conditions.
The ban against open flames and fireworks will go into effect Wednesday at 6 a.m. and comes as other municipalities and public land authorities also curb fire activity, creating a wave of fire restrictions across the Four Corners.
Montezuma County’s ban was voted on unanimously by the Board of County Commissioners after a presentation was given Monday on risk conditions by Emergency Manager Jim Spratlen and Sheriff Steve Nowlin, who also serves as County Fire Warden.
Fire management resources and personnel are available if a burn breaks out, Spratlen told the commissioners.
“We don’t have to worry too much, everybody is just standing by,” he said.
Montezuma County Fire Chiefs Association also advised on the ban.
The county’s ban arrives in tandem with other regional orders put in place to douse flames before they can begin, with some restrictions established months ago.
In April, open burning was banned in New Mexico’s unincorporated San Juan County, along with Bloomfield and Kirtland. By May, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe put fire restrictions in place, while Dolores did so last week and the San Juan National Forest made their announcement for lower elevation areas yesterday.
As of Tuesday morning, Montezuma County’s restrictions were followed by the Bureau of Land Management Tres Rios Field Office and Mesa Verde National Park and Yucca House National Monument.
La Plata County fire restrictions are also now in effect.
In Navajo Nation, where the Oak Ridge fire burns with zero containment, a state of emergency has been declared and Stage 2 fire restrictions are in place.
Smoke carried towards the Montezuma County region by the wind would not be entirely out of question, said Jim Andrus, a weather watcher in Cortez for the National Weather Service. Such a carryover event would depend on a south wind blowing from the fire raging in Navajo Nation.
On an average July month in Cortez, winds are more likely to blow from the west or the south, according to windalert.com.
With almost four weeks of no rain, the new wave of fire restrictions seems appropriate, Andrus said.
“Everything is pretty much tinder-dry here,” he said.
Some flames will still be permitted, however, with caution in mind.
Cortez’s Fourth of July celebration fireworks will carry on as usual, Cortez Events and Marketing Specialist, Asialynn Hager and Public Information Officer Kelly Codner confirmed to The Journal.
Fireworks other than those used for public display are illegal under the Cortez Municipal Code, Codner wrote in an email.
The Cortez Fire Protection District oversees the fireworks launch during the celebration, ensuring the festivities have safety as the top priority.
Some exceptions are allowed. For instance, Montezuma County is permitting residential charcoal and gas barbecue grills, closed commercial incinerators and some open flame activity within a 20-foot radius of vegetation.
Violations of the ban come with a fine of up to $1,000.
Visit https://montezumacounty.org/ for more specific information about the region’s fire restrictions.
Scout Edmondson of the Durango Herald and Alx Lee of the Tri-City Record contributed to this article.
