Lake County OEM raises fire danger to high, urges public to report unattended campfires

Claire Hathaway, director of Lake County Office of Emergency Management, told county commissioners on June 17 that the county has been raised to high fire danger and that a red-flag day was in effect on parts of the Western Slope.

"We are now in high fire danger," Hathaway said, describing recent updates from the U.S. Forest Service and national fire centers. She said the National Interagency Fire Center has set the national preparedness level at 2 and that new information received in the previous three days prompted the change in local public messaging.

The update noted statewide snowpack and moisture conditions contributing to risk: the state is at 23% of median snowpack and the Arkansas Basin is at 36% of median. Hathaway cited Forest Service fuel-moisture measurements near Leadville — Lodgepole Flats at about 8% and Turquoise Lake at about 12% — and said those measures meet one criterion used to assess fire danger.

Hathaway asked residents to help report unattended campfires and to put them out only when it is safe to do so. "If the public does come across unattended campfires, the Forest Service is asking for help in putting them out if it's safe to do so," she said, adding that the Forest Service had asked the public to report such fires and that the county had posted reporting links and social-media notices.

Hathaway said the county expects above-normal summer temperatures and a near-normal July monsoon. She warned that smoke from out-of-state fires may reach the area and said Lake County Public Health has free N95 masks and resources for residents concerned about smoke exposure.

County staff described current restrictions elsewhere: there were no federal fire restrictions on federal land in Colorado at the time of the meeting; some neighboring counties were under stage 1 or stage 2 restrictions. Hathaway also explained that some counties automatically escalate restriction levels on declared red-flag days, which can cause public confusion when levels change for short periods.

Commissioners and staff discussed technology to detect fires: Hathaway said she was in talks with Excel Energy and a company called Pano AI about placing an AI-enabled camera on a radio tower to provide long-range fire detection at no cost to the county. She said the camera would provide alerts to county staff and partners if deployed.

Hathaway closed by saying she had no current recommendation to impose county fire restrictions or bans, but that she, the sheriff and other partners were monitoring conditions and would revisit restrictions if indicators changed. "I still currently have no recommendations for fire restrictions or bans," she said.

County officials said the OEM web page includes an infographic, definitions of stage 1 and stage 2 restrictions, links to federal and state maps and a short URL and QR code residents can use to check current local fire danger.

The county encouraged residents to avoid open burning, to be cautious with smoking and fireworks and to prepare simple tools (water and shovel) when recreating in the backcountry.