By Ann Schrader
The Denver Post (Colorado)
Copyright 2006 The Denver Post
All Rights Reserved
Despite fire bans, dozens of people continue to light campfires, toss lit cigarettes out car windows and do things that cause authorities to shake their heads.
Jefferson County deputies have written more than 50 tickets since Sheriff Ted Mink imposed fire restrictions May 1 and a fire ban May 26.
“We have absolute zero tolerance,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said of prohibiting anything that produces an open flame. “We are very serious.”
Nearly half of the people handed a Rule 16 summons — a violation carrying a fine of up to $600 — built campfires in the Pike National Forest, which has been struck year after year by human-
caused wildfires.
A Denver Post review of deputy reports shows most violators admitted they didn’t stop to think, claimed they didn’t see warning signs or thought the restrictions didn’t apply to them.
A few said they knew but chose to ignore prohibitions prompted by dry conditions that rival those during Colorado’s worst fire season, in 2002.
“While explaining the ban, a piece of charred paper flew out of the pit towards a grassy area,” a deputy wrote.
Many failed to have water, a fire extinguisher or a shovel nearby to extinguish the fires.
“People have to be smart out there,” said Rocco Snart, Jefferson County’s fire mitigation specialist.
Campfires and discarded cigarettes aren’t the only culprits, said Bill Lucatuorto, chief of the InterCanyon Fire Department. He cited dangers posed by welding torches, chain saws and recreational vehicles.
Some violators thought it was all right to have a fire on their own property, with some saying they were trying to get rid of forest debris, while others were outright belligerent.
A 6-by-8-foot slash fire that had toasted adjacent green areas brought firefighters and deputies to a Golden Gate Canyon home May 30.
“As I explained that one of the reasons the ban was in effect was because it was so dry, (the resident) got a smirk on his face and told us it was raining,” a deputy wrote.
A homeowner burning branches on his property in the Pine Valley area touched off a 101-acre fire over Memorial Day weekend.
Four or five homes in Cliffdale were evacuated, and residents of 350 homes within 2 miles received reverse 911 voluntary evacuation calls.
Fighting the fire cost an estimated $102,000.
The homeowner, who was described as being embarrassed, faces arson charges once the investigation is complete.
Laws have been toughened since 2002. It is now illegal to throw a cigarette out the window, and penalties are more severe for starting a fire.
Snart said firefighters will have their hands full of nature-caused wildfires without unwitting humans. A recent “flaming squirrel” case near U.S. 285 is an example.
A squirrel caught fire when it made contact with a high-power line. When the squirrel fell, it set weeds and grasses on fire. In minutes, a 50-foot-
square area was blackened.
What was scary, Lucatuorto said, “is the grasses looked somewhat green but had dead stuff mixed in. You wouldn’t think it looked like it posed a fire danger.”