Pueblo County Lifts All Fire Restrictions

Pueblo County will left all fire restrictions at 5 p.m. Thursday.

Pueblo County Sheriff Kirk M Taylor has announced that, at 5:00 pm Thursday, the Stage I Fire Restrictions will be lifted.

According to a press release from the Sheriff;s Office: This means that residents of Pueblo County can again have outdoor fires for yard debris, agricultural needs, and recreation. Simultaneously, Pueblo City Fire Chief Christopher Riley will lift any remaining restrictions inside the city limits. (Although agricultural and yard debris burns are always prohibited in the city, a restriction on open flames such as tiki torches and chiminea’s have been in place since late June.)

The two lifted the orders after reviewing current fire data and conferring with Fire Chiefs from across the County. The information reviewed is the same that was used to reach the decision to impose the restrictions. The data includes studies of; fuel moisture content, anticipated weather patterns, available fire resources, recent fire call-out history, and drought conditions.

Sheriff Taylor would like to commend the Pueblo citizen’s, “Emergency Management isn’t just responding to calls, it is recognizing the urgency of a situation and mitigating that situation before it becomes a disaster. We did that, but really it is the citizens who should be credited for the summer long protection and safety of our community.” He believes it was more than the threat of fines that kept the people compliant to the ban. “Nearly everyone recognized their civic responsibility to follow these restrictions and we are safe because of that.”

Chief Riley expressed gratitude for the efforts of the whole community, response agencies and the public alike. “I cannot overemphasize the value of the interagency coordination among all of Pueblo County emergency response agencies and our residents. We have had a very fire-safe spring as a result thanks to this successful cooperation. I would encourage everyone to continue practicing fire safety.”

While all outdoor smoking restrictions are lifted, smokers are encouraged to practice caution. Improperly discarded cigarettes are among the leading causes of grass and structure fires nationwide.

Pueblo County residents are reminded that any controlled burns must be reported to the Pueblo County Burn Line @ 719 583 BURN (2876)