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Dry weather and high winds increase fire danger

Elizabeth Stewart-Severy/Aspen Public Radio News

Warm temperatures have accelerated snowmelt, and local fire officials are advising caution with any kind of burning.

 

Two fires last weekend fueled concerns over fire danger stemming from dry grasses and high winds. Basalt Fire chief Scott Thompson urges caution.

“People are doing controlled burns, agricultural burns, ditch burn and things like that,” Thompson said. “They just need to understand that there’s no green grass to slow the fire down and the winds in the afternoons will push the fires and possibly get out of control.”

Basalt Fire responded to two calls last Sunday. One blaze ignited from a controlled burn along Lower River Road, and the other was caused by a discarded cigarette that caught fire in dry grass near Holland Hills.

Open burning is allowed through May 31 with a permit. Thompson said it’s important that people watch any controlled burning closely, are well prepared with sufficient help and extinguish fires in winds stronger than 5 mph.

Aspen native Elizabeth Stewart-Severy is excited to be making a return to both the Red Brick, where she attended kindergarten, and the field of journalism. She has spent her entire life playing in the mountains and rivers around Aspen, and is thrilled to be reporting about all things environmental in this special place. She attended the University of Colorado with a Boettcher Scholarship, and graduated as the top student from the School of Journalism in 2006. Her lifelong love of hockey lead to a stint working for the Colorado Avalanche, and she still plays in local leagues and coaches the Aspen Junior Hockey U-19 girls.
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