Extreme fire danger forces forest to close
Extreme fire dangerpromptedofficials DENVER— toshut downa sprawling forest that includes some of Colorado’s most stunning mountains in a region that attracts tourists from around theworld, a rare tactic also being used in neighboring states as the U.S. Southwest struggles with severe drought.
National forests and parks in Arizona and NewMexico have already been shutdown as precautions.
San Juan National Forest officials in southwesternColorado closed hundreds of miles of trails and thousands of miles of back roads to hikers, bikers, horseback riders and campers Tuesday to prevent the possibility of an abandoned campfire or any other spark from starting a wildfire. It’s the first full closure of a national forest in Colorado since 2002, which was another very dry year.
The closure will remain until sufficient precipitation eases the fire danger.
Themovecomesastheresidents of over 2,000 homes have been forced to evacuate because of a fire that started June 1 in the forest that has burned about 31 square miles. It is 15 percent contained. Another fire nearby has burned about 4 square miles. Authorities are still investigating how the fire started.
No homes have been lost although the fire came close to buildings Sunday night, authorities said. Fire managers credited advance fire mitigation work by homeowners for helping firefighters save the structures.
In NewMexico, the Santa Fe National Forest, along with portions of three national park sites, closed June 1 because of the fire danger. The Santa Fe forest is amongNewMexico’s most popular getaways.
TheU.S. ForestServicealso is planning to bar recreation in a handful of ranger districts in the Cibola National Forest outside of Albuquerque beginning Friday.
Portions ofnational forests in Arizonawere also closed in lateMay because of severe fire conditions.
Full forest closures are not common and the Forest Service stresses they’re only done as a last resort.
The Coconino National Forest in Arizona shut down completely because of fire danger in2006forninedays. A2002 shutdownlasted nine weeks, includingbothMemorial Day and July 4 holidays, and other national forests had closures that year.
Colorado’s latest closure will also bar non-recreational uses, although ranchers, for example, who use some of the forest’sover2,800square miles for grazing will be able to seek exemptions, San Juan National Forest spokeswoman Cam Hooley said.
If any exemptions are granted, those users would be required to take precautions, such as carrying water, shovelsandfire extinguishers and possibly only allowed in during certain times of the day, she said.
“We recognize that this is difficult for the local businesses and the local economy and just ask that people just be understanding and patient,” Hooley said.
The region, which is also hometoMesaVerdeNational Park, relies heavily on visitors to support its economy and fire managers have tried to help encourage them to keep coming by including links to tourism information in their regular fire updates.