As Montezuma County residents await a final decision on a fire ban, wet conditions this week may provide a safer window for pile burning, according to the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office.
“With the ground currently wet from recent rains, this may be a good opportunity to safely take care of any burn piles,” the Sheriff’s Office wrote in a Facebook post.
San Juan National Forest officials also factored Wednesday’s rain into their plans for a prescribed fire in Sauls Creek, near Bayfield, conducted over the weekend.
“The 255-acre burn was conducted to reduce hazardous fuels that would make future wildfires more threatening and harder to control,” the Forest Service wrote online.
The Sheriff’s Office advised residents to avoid pile burning during periods of high wind, which are expected Thursday. The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for the Four Corners and upper Dolores River regions from 11 a.m. Thursday to 9 p.m. that evening. Gusts of up to 45 mph are expected.
“If it’s windy, don’t burn,” said Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin, regardless of moisture levels on the ground.
Anyone planning a pile burn must first call the Cortez Communications Center at (970) 565-8454. Nowlin said residents must call on the day of the burn so dispatchers can accurately assess safety based on current weather conditions.
Anyone who plans to conduct a pile burn must first call the Cortez Communications Center at (970) 565-8454. Nowlin said people need to call on the day of the burn so dispatch can accurately assess the safety based on weather conditions.
“Just be careful if you are going to burn, and you get permission to burn,” Nowlin said. “Follow the rules that I put out there on our website of how to actually burn and what to do. Be able to put it out as soon as you can.”
The county website includes a list of tips from the Sheriff’s Office, advising residents to keep burn piles small and to burn in a pit at least three feet deep.
Nowlin said he will meet with fire district chiefs later this week to further assess conditions and help inform a decision on a fire ban.
“This is helping tremendously, but it isn’t going to put an end to our problem,” Nowlin said of Wednesday’s rain. “But it’s going to delay when a fire ban will go in as far as I’m concerned because I do want people to burn when it’s safe to burn so they can get rid of what they have.”
avanderveen@the-journal.com
