Park County enacts stage 1 fire restrictions; agricultural burns must notify local dispatch

The Park County Board of County Commissioners adopted a resolution putting the county under stage 1 fire restrictions and amended the draft language to require that persons conducting agricultural burns on private land notify local dispatch when beginning and ending a burn.

Jerry Parker, chief with Park County Fire District 2, asked the commissioners to adopt stage 1 because adjacent federal agencies had already restricted burning; stage 1 prohibits open burning and requires a 15-foot cleared area around welding or other spark-producing activities, among other limits. The draft resolution was largely the same as previous years but county staff and commissioners requested a change to paragraph d to reflect the current dispatch arrangements: instead of naming a single call center, the language was revised to require notification to local dispatch at start and finish of any agricultural burn on private land.

Commissioners also asked that the county sheriff and "all local dispatch" and the state forester receive a copy of the resolution. The board approved the resolution as amended and assigned it Resolution No. 2025-63. Commissioners said the county attorney would finalize the resolution text and planning staff would circulate the signed copy to local dispatch centers, the sheriff's office and the state forester.

The adopted restrictions are aimed at limiting human-caused fires during a period of high risk; Park County Fire District 2 said the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service had already imposed restrictions in parts of the county. The resolution invites cooperation and notification among dispatch centers and local agencies to reduce false alarms and ensure firefighter coordination.