Parts of Colorado under fire restrictions

(KJCT)
Published: Aug. 23, 2019 at 2:53 PM MDT
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Stage 1 fire restrictions issued for Summit County on Friday.

The restrictions make many fire-related activities like fireworks, smoking outdoors and using charcoal grills prohibited. Restrictions were issued due to more than 140,000 acres of beetle-killed trees throughout the county. Meaning, there's thousands of acres of dry and dead vegetation which could easily spark up.

"The fire danger in Western Colorado is increasing with the hot, dry weather. It's been a while since we've taken rain so we're on an upward trend in terms of fire danger," says Lathan Johnson, Fire Management Specialist for the Bureau of Land Management.

As for Mesa County, there aren't any restrictions in place. Decisions to add fire restrictions are based on moisture measurements of vegetation, weather and an increase in human activity.