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Moffat County rescinds Stage 2 fire restrictions, establishes Stage 1 fire restrictions

A little under a month and a half after moving into Stage 2 fire restrictions, Moffat County will move back down into Stage 1 fire restrictions effective Wednesday at 12:01 a.m.

During Tuesday’s Moffat County Board of County Commissioners’ meeting, Moffat County Sheriff KC Hume asked Commissioners Ray Beck, Don Cook and Donald Broom to adopt Resolution 2020-94, rescinding the stage 2 restriction on open fires and open burning in the unincorporated areas of Moffat County, and establishing the stage 1 restriction on open fires and open burning in the unincorporated areas of the county.

“While fire conditions have improved, [the risk] still hasn’t gone away,” Sheriff Hume said. “It makes sense based off of conditions and data gathered from our stakeholders to move from the restrictive stage 2 into the less restrictive stage 1.”



Sheriff Hume mentioned the move down into stage 1 allows for fires in camp sites, which allows greater latitude for folks to engage in those types of outdoor activities, especially as hunters start to come into the area for hunting season.

Stage I Restrictions prohibit the following activities in Moffat County:



  • Open burning, excepting fires and campfires within permanently constructed fire grates in developed campgrounds and picnic grounds, charcoal grills and wood burning stoves at private residences in areas cleared of all flammable materials, and those other exceptions/exemptions as noted in Section 9 of Moffat County Ordinance 13-03.
  • Using explosive material: (i.e.: fireworks, blasting caps, tracer rounds, exploding targets or any incendiary device which may result in the ignition of flammable material.)
  • Welding or operating an acetylene or other torch with an open flame; except within an area that is barren or cleared of all flammable material at least 10 feet on all sides from the equipment and possess a chemical pressurized five pound fire extinguisher and one round pointed shovel with an overall length of at least 36 inches. The extinguisher and shovel may be kept with the welding supplies but must be readily available for quick use.
  • Outdoor smoking except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site or while stopped in an area at least three feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of all flammable materials.
  • Operating or using any internal combustion engine without a spark arresting device properly installed, maintained and in effective working order.

MOFFAT COUNTY PUBLIC SAFETY CENTER AWARDED JBBS GRANT

Prior to requesting commissioners rescind the stage 2 fire restrictions Tuesday, Sheriff Hume announced to commissioners and those in attendance that the Moffat County Public Safety Center was awarded a Jail Based Behavior Specialist Grant, which exceeds more than $300,000.

The JBBS Grant will allow the Moffat County Public Safety Center to provide mental health services to inmates in the jail. The Safety Center was already doing this, which was required. However, the dollars to support those mental health services had previously come out of the county’s general fund. Now, with the grant, the Safety Center will be able to hire a full-time clinician, which will be paid for through the grant funding.

Sheriff Hume said he anticipates the funding to cover the costs of the clinician for roughly five years.


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