Boulder County Government: Colorado Public Land Agencies: Recreate Responsibly To Prevent Wildfires

Press release from the Boulder County Government:

July 1, 2021

Media ContactVivienne Jannatpour, (303) 678-6277

Front Range public lands have seen high vegetative growth from spring precipitation – which may fuel wildfires during dry, hot, and windy weather.

Boulder County, Colo. - With visitation to public lands increasing and temperatures expected to continue hitting record levels, a group of federal, state, and local public land agencies stress that visitors need to recreate responsibly and exercise extreme caution to prevent wildfires this summer.

While the Denver-Metro area has had significant precipitation this year, the moisture has led to high vegetative growth that will dry out over the coming weeks and could fuel wildfires during hot and windy weather conditions.

This reminder from federal, state, and local public land managers also comes as most areas of Colorado are experiencing severe drought conditions that have led communities across the western part of the state to institute fire restrictions. Public land visitors’ cooperation is critical in preventing catastrophic wildfires like those experienced by Colorado in 2020 when fires scorched hundreds of thousands of acres, destroyed hundreds of homes, and helped produce the worst air-quality the Front Range has seen in a decade.

With the Fourth of July holiday approaching, public land managers remind visitors they have a special responsibility to protect themselves, their families and friends, shared public lands, first responders, and neighboring communities. Visitors should:

Officers who protect Colorado public lands will issue citations to anyone who possesses or lights fireworks and to those who light prohibited campfires. The group of federal, state and local public land agencies continue to remind visitors to practice responsible recreation guidelines, including:

Visitors should access public land websites – including Colorado Trail Explorer – to view critical advisories and trail maps BEFORE planning visits to public lands:

Media Contacts:

Canyon Loop trail at Betasso Preserve

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This press release was produced by the Boulder County Government. The views expressed here are the author’s own.