Colorado is in the midst of wildfire season, with several high-profile fires that have sparked across the state so far this summer. 

Yet an overwhelming majority of Colorado counties, including those in the High Country and Western Slope, currently remain without restrictions on campfires, according to an online map from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control. 

The reason, safety officials say, is because the science doesn’t yet support the need to enter what is known as Stage 1 or 2 fire restrictions, which can limit or prohibit the use of campfires and other fire-igniting materials and tools. Being under fire restrictions is different from a daily fire danger warning, which is used to communicate the level of risk for wildfires in a given area. 

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In Summit County, the wildfire risk — based on a five-point scale used by the U.S. Forest Service — remains at “high” after climbing from “moderate” in early July. The scale’s fire ratings are low, moderate, high, very high and extreme. No fire restrictions are currently in place.

“When we talk about daily fire danger, that is looking at current weather conditions, fuel data, local topography, emission risk — that’s determined daily,” said Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons. “Whereas when we talk about fire restrictions … I’m looking more at historical data.” 

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Every week, a regional coalition of county sheriff’s office officials, local fire districts and Forest Service members meet to discuss the latest data — and whether restrictions should be considered for any of their counties. Summit officials belong to what is called the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit, which includes Summit, Eagle, Pitkin, Garfield and Mesa counties. 

Because weather conditions and elevation differ between these counties, the decision to go into fire restrictions is made on a county-by-county basis. But by having a regional team reviewing data, FitzSimons said it gives local officials a broader picture of where wildfire season could be headed. 

‘A coordinated challenge’

Officials consider a slew of factors when evaluating whether restrictions are necessary. That includes reviewing the energy release component, live fuel moistures and short-term weather forecasts. 

The energy release component refers to wildfire conditions based on weather data for the past 25 years to understand what kind of a fire current conditions could produce. Fires become especially dangerous when the release component approaches 90%, meaning that day’s conditions are in the top 10% for worst fire conditions over the past 25 years.

As of Wednesday, July 24, the release component in Summit County was 77%, according to FitzSimons. That is expected to climb to 79% on Thursday and 81% on Friday before dropping to 72% on Saturday and 66% on Sunday. 

Live fuel moistures are a measurement of how much water moisture is being held within the area’s vegetation, from shrubs to trees to grass. FitzSimons said the county’s fuel moisture levels continue to hover right around normal for this time of year. 

Finally, officials look at six- to 10-day weather predictions to see if conditions will be favorable or not to wildfire risk. FitzSimons said near-term forecasts show steady precipitation from thunderstorms, which is expected to help reduce the energy release component by the end of the week. 

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To implement Stage 1 fire restrictions, which ban campfires that aren’t within a developed campsite, four factors would need to be present: an energy release component between 90% and 96% for the past five days, live fuel moistures at or approaching historic thresholds, no significant weather relief over the next seven days and high human-caused risk.

If three of those elements are present, Stage 1 restrictions are strongly considered while if less than three are present, no restrictions are considered. 

For Stage 2 restrictions, which outright ban campfires even in developed campgrounds, the bar is higher. To implement Stage 2, the release component would need to be greater than 97% for the past five days while live fuel moistures would need to have dropped well below historic thresholds. The same factors of no significant weather relief and high human-caused risk also apply. 

Jim Genung, White River National Forest deputy unit fire management officer, said these decisions aren’t made in a vacuum but instead rely on a consensus from the Forest Service and county-level public safety officials. 

Ultimately, a county’s sheriff’s office typically takes the recommendation to its governing board of commissioners, who approve the restrictions. 

“It’s a coordinated challenge,” Genung said. “And we want to give the public good, clear, concise information.”

Entering either a Stage 1 or 2 ban usually lasts for a week, if not longer, with Genung adding that it would be confusing for the public if counties entered and exited restrictions on a daily basis. For that reason, and because of the outreach campaign that usually comes with it, implementing restrictions isn’t taken lightly. 

“The White River National Forest is the most visited in the (National Forest) system,” Genung said. “And it’s a big thing for people to sit out and have a campfire and enjoy themselves.”

‘An unattended fire is always an emergency’

Despite some major wildfires this season, such as the 705-acre Interlaken Fire that burned for nearly two weeks in an area south of Leadville in June, Genung said this summer has been relatively tame — at least for the White River National Forest area. 

“We’re in mid- to-late July, and we only have had three wildfire responses on the White River National Forest, which is an incredibly low number,” Genung said, adding all three of those fires have been less than one-quarter of an acre. 

Still, Genung said there’s a lot of wildfire season left and did not want to downplay the importance of being fire-aware.

According to FitzSimons, there have been two wildfires in Summit County so far this summer, one being the one-quarter acre fire that sparked near the Wellington Neighborhood in Breckenridge on July 7. The fire was believed to have started from a campfire left unattended. 

That incident is a reminder of the role everyone plays in preventing wildfires, FitzSimons said, adding that the Wellington Fire and others like it appear to be caused by nearby residents as opposed to out-of-county recreators. 

Safety officials have urged better practices when putting out campfires amid what they’re calling a “dangerous trend in outdoor recreation,” according to a recent news release from officials with the Pike-San Isabel National Forests, which is based just to the southeast of Summit County.

When leaving a campfire, campers should drown the fire in water and, using a shovel, stir the ashes. Campers should then drown the campfire again, stir it again and use the back of their hand to ensure it is cold to the touch, repeating the process if it is not.

More than 80% of wildfires in the U.S. are human-caused, and while FitzSimons acknowledged “there’s a lot of responsible people out there who have backyard fires or fires at campgrounds,” he cautioned against starting any fires in wilderness areas. 

He said that community members can’t count on fire restrictions to solve the problem, adding that it will take personal responsibility to avoid wildfires. 

“We have seen that the fires that we’ve had historically in Summit County, it didn’t matter if we had restrictions or not,” FitzSimons said. “We need to start having these conversations with our families and friends about not starting fires.”

If anyone ever sees what they believe is a wildfire, FitzSimons said not to hesitate to call 911. 

“An unattended fire is always an emergency,” he said.