County fire chief announces prohibition on open burning amid early fire season

San Juan County's fire chief told commissioners on April 15 that the county has moved to prohibit open burning permits after repeated escape incidents in a dry early season.

The chief said recent escaped ditches and slash-pile burns have caused structure losses and that the county earlier had implemented a progressive restriction (allowing burns only before noon). "Unfortunately, we have some members in our community that don't pay attention to those warnings and over the weekend that resulted in some escape fires that actually, burned some houses down," the chief said. As a result, the county will not allow open-burning permits until moisture reduces fire danger; exemptions include recreational fires, welding and flaring operations.

The chief said the decision follows scientific outlooks of continued dry conditions through May and called the outlooks the basis for restricting permits. He also noted coordination with Bureau of Indian Affairs and Navajo Nation counterparts and said county staff will continue public outreach through local radio and partner organizations.

Why it matters: Prohibiting open burning reduces the number of human-caused wildfires during a period of elevated fire danger and affects agricultural and land-management practices that rely on controlled burns.

County emergency staff encouraged residents to sign up for the national watch-duty app and said they would provide radio briefings and coordination with tribal and federal partners while monitoring weather conditions.