Teller County is one of the last of local entities to lift Stage
II fire bans. On July 28, the county commissioners dropped its
Stage II ban to Stage I. This will allow campfire, charcoal and
wood grills and welding and chain-saw activities on private and
public lands in Teller County.
A Stage I ban still prohibits open burning even if a property
owner has a permit to do so but smokers will now be allowed to
smoke outside their homes and vehicles.
Woodland Park lifted its Stage II fire ban on July 22. The
city’s Stage I ban, however, is always in force.
The U.S. Forest Service also lifted its Stage II fire ban in
Pike National Forest to allow recreational fires but restrictions
still continue in San Isabel National Forest and Cimarron and
Comanche National Grasslands as extreme and severe drought continue
in the southern portion of the state.
According to Cripple Creek Deputy City Clerk Jessica Memmer, the
city is in the process of dropping its Stage II ban down to Stage I
but this must be accomplished by ordinance and approved at a city
council meeting.
“We’re going to try to squeeze it in on the Aug. 3 city council
agenda,” Memmer said.
Although the fire bans were seen as necessary and most people
welcomed them, some local businesses experienced a negative
economic impact from the Stage II bans as campers were staying out
of the forest. Even businesses that are not directly related to the
outdoors were seeing an impact.
Tracie Bennitt at the Rocky Mountain Dinosaur Resource Center in
Woodland Park said campers typically come into the center in the
afternoons to get away from the heat and to beat the afternoon
thunderstorms but that doesn’t happen when there are no
campers.
“I know they want to keep us safe but these fire bans were
hurting everyone,” Bennitt said.