Following a statewide fire ban issued by Governor John Hickenlooper last week, Rocky Mountain National Park has now banned all fires within the park.
Extremely low humidity, and high winds have been forecast for Rocky Mountain National Park this week --ideal conditions for a large wildfire. As a result all open flame campfires, including charcoal briquette fires have been banned.
However, petroleum fueled stoves and grills are still permitted.Park spokesperson Kyle Patterson says rangers are taking no chances and will strictly enforcing the ban.
“We’re fortunate in Rocky Mountain National Park that we have a lot of sets of eyes and ears in the park, so we have very few remote back roads, and most people are going to be adhering to this. But if someone was to not adhere to the fire restriction and this complete fire ban in the park, they would be cited.”
The last time a total fire ban was in place in the park was September 2010 the year of the Four Mile Canyon Fire, and during the summer of 2002 when the Hayman Fire burned thousands of acres in southern Colorado.
Meanwhile, Denver Mountain Parks has also issued atotal fire ban, which does include the use of propane and gas grills within mountain parks like Mt. Evans.
