The Montezuma County fire chiefs want to help you make it safely through another wildfire season. There is a lot of potential for devastating fire out there, but if we all do our part, wildfire can continue to be a healthy part of our landscape in Southwest Colorado.
Consider that about half of the fires in Montezuma County in 2012 were started by people, and the larger fires were human caused. Most were unintentional, a cigarette butt out the window or a planned burn that got out of control.
All of these human-caused fires are preventable. Burning ditches and slash piles serves an important role. Getting rid of the dead vegetation and the built-up slash is an important part of managing the land where we live. What is not important is burning when fire conditions are unsafe. There are three things that are important to remember about "controlled burns": planning, calling and timing.
Planning for a controlled burn includes selecting the location, deciding what you want to burn, and what conditions you will need to burn safely. You may not need the same weather conditions to burn in a barrel as you will to burn a field. But our county's all-or-nothing burn ban system requires that those of us who have more to burn than twigs to roast marshmallows use our own common sense to plan for safe burning.
If you have slash piles, think small, create good clearance, and cover your piles with a tarp so you can burn them when everything else is wet or blanketed in snow. It is much easier to put out a smaller fire, and you can feed it with brush from other piles or the surrounding area. This will also give you something to do while you are keeping an eye on your fire.
If you are broadcast burning an area, determine the boundaries of your burn area in advance, and build a fire line around the entire area by clearing to bare earth or wetting the surrounding ground. Remember, wooden fences will burn. It is a good idea to clear around posts or consider alternatives to burning such as mowing or plowing where a planned burn might destroy a fence.
Have water on hand and tools available to control any fire that you build. Make sure you can stay with your fire until it is out cold. You may stir in water and/or dirt to cool the coals and rake them out so they will cool faster. Never leave your fire before your coals are cold enough to touch.
Before any burn, aside from a small campfire in a prepared pit, call dispatch at 565-8454. This gives dispatch a chance to let you know of any potentially hazardous burning conditions for the day. It is also a good idea to let neighbors know that you will be burning, so they do not invite the fire department out unnecessarily. And should you happen to make a mistake, please call 911 as soon as your fire gets out of control.
Time your burn when things are moist. Make sure you have plenty of time to burn before any wind might turn your controlled burn into an out of control burn. Consider the season, and the importance of this burn. We are getting awfully late for Spring burning in much of Montezuma County, especially with the afternoon winds. Mowing or plowing are alternatives to some agricultural burning and hauling and removing, chipping, and lop-and-scatter are good techniques to dispose of slash from demolition, pruning, or forest thinning.
For a list of safe burning tips, contact the Montezuma County Fire Chiefs Association Wildfire Prevention and Education Specialist at 564-4007. Follow the Cortez Journal for regular Wildfire News You Can Use every first and third Tuesday through the wildfire season.
Rebecca Samulski is wildfire prevention and education specialist for the Montezuma County Fire Chiefs Association and Montezuma Chapter coordinator for FireWise of Southwest Colorado.
