K "Reid" Armstrong, Peak to Peak. Forest Supervisor Monte Williams said the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests east of the Continental Divide will remain in Stage 3 Fire Restrictions, which
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K "Reid" Armstrong, Peak to Peak. Forest Supervisor Monte Williams said the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests east of the Continental Divide will remain in Stage 3 Fire Restrictions, which closes the Forest to all uses, until at least Saturday. West of the Divide, in Grand County, Forest personnel are preparing on Friday to return to Stage 2 Fire restrictions, which bans all fires but opens the Forest to other uses. Closures around fire areas will remain in effect.
This decision comes after meeting Monday and Wednesday with sheriffs in Grand, Clear Creek, Gilpin, Boulder, Larimer and Jefferson counties as well as Colorado Parks and Wildlife regional managers. The team heard from NOAA meteorologists and fire managers, reviewing the short and long term weather forecasts. Conditions will remain windy, warm and dry through the remainder of this week. A low pressure system is developing and is expected to bring moisture to the area over the weekend, however predictions call for very little snow/water equivalency along the Front Range (about one-tenth of an inch).
"We continue to be in historically warm and dry conditions for this time of year," Williams said. "What we need to see is a series of storms stacking up, bringing sufficient precipitation and sustained cold temperatures to provide some relief.”
The group will meet again on Saturday in hopes of getting a clearer picture of the incoming storm system and the 14-day outlook after that.
“We have to be sure we are really coming out of this current fire weather trend,” Williams added. “A monumental amount of effort goes into closing the forest and opening it up. It’s not a switch that we can just keep flipping as conditions change.”
The county sheriffs supported this decision, citing concerns for new fire starts, the risk of more loss of homes, and a drawdown of firefighting personnel and resources at this time of year.
Meanwhile, temperatures west of the Continental Divide in Grand County have remained cooler, allowing snow to melt more slowly and moisture to be absorbed by the fuels. Higher amounts of snow are forecasted for the weekend and coming week west of the Divide. With those factors in mind, and support from the Grand County sheriff and commissioners, Forest personnel are currently preparing to return to Stage 2 fire restrictions across the Sulphur Ranger District by Friday. Forest Closures will remain in place around the Williams Fork and East Troublesome Fire burned areas.
