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The environment desk at Aspen Public Radio covers issues in the Roaring Fork Valley and throughout the state of Colorado including water use and quality, impact of recreation, population growth and oil and gas development. APR’s Environment Reporter is Elizabeth Stewart-Severy.

Fire restrictions mean no 4th of July fireworks in Aspen

Elizabeth Stewart-Severy
/
Aspen Public Radio

Stage one fire restrictions went into effect Tuesday in Pitkin and Eagle Counties because of dry conditions and high temperatures.

Stage one restrictions mean campfires are only allowed in designated fire grates, and smoking should be limited to indoors or in areas that are free from vegetation. People also cannot light off fireworks, and there will not be firework displays in Aspen or Glenwood Springs this 4th of July. Garfield County has had fire restrictions in place since late May.

There are several fires burning in Colorado, including one near Durango that is nearly 24,000 acres and only 15 percent contained; another, near Wolcott, is 50 percent contained.

Much of the smoke that has been blowing into the Roaring Fork Valley is from a fire near Price, Utah. That has caused an increase in air pollutants including ozone and pm 2.5, which can cause inflammation in the lungs. That smoke is expected to dissipate Wednesday.

 

 

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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