In response to continued rising fire danger, Summit County and the Dillon Ranger District of the White River National Forest will move to Stage 2 fire restrictions on Friday.

Under Stage 2 restrictions, all outdoor fires are prohibited, including campfires on private property, in the backcountry, and in developed campgrounds.

“We only enter Stage 2 fire restrictions when conditions are severe,” said Dillon District Ranger David Ilse. “If a wildfire starts under these conditions, it can have significant impacts to the forest as well as to our local communities and economy.”

The Summit County Sheriff's Office, the U.S. Forest Service, and local police departments will actively enforce all fire restrictions. Violations can result in a class 2 misdemeanor and a mandatory summons to court.

“We will continue to take a zero-tolerance approach to violations," said Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons. "All violators will be cited; the risks are too high.”

Stage 2 Fire Restriction Details:

Prohibited Activities:

· Open fires, including campfires, warming fires, bonfires or the prescribed burning of fence rows, fields, wildlands, trash and debris.

· Solid-fuel fires (wood or charcoal), including backyard campfires that otherwise have been permitted by local fire departments.

· Smoking, except in an enclosed vehicle or building, designated outdoor areas where smoking is permitted, or while stopped in an area that is at least three feet in diameter and is barren or cleared of all flammable material.

· Fireworks.

· Explosives, including recreational use of any projectile containing explosive material, incendiary material or other chemical substance.

· Disposal of any burning object outdoors, including any cigarette, cigar or match.

· Chainsaws without an approved spark arrester, a chemical pressurized fire extinguisher and shovel kept with the operator.

· Blasting, grinding, welding or operating acetylene or other torch with open flame.

· Campfires within a campground or picnic area or in undeveloped recreational areas.

· Use of charcoal and/or wood pellet grills, smokers and barbecues, coal and wood burning stoves and sheepherder’s stoves.

· Parking motor vehicles unless in an area devoid of vegetation within 10 feet of the vehicle.

Permitted Activities:

· Liquid or gas-fueled devices, including heating devices, stoves, grills, lanterns, fire pits, fireplaces or fire tables that include shut-off valves when used in an area at least three feet from flammable materials such as grasses or pine needles.

· Fires contained within a fireplace, stove, wood burning stove, or pellet stove designed for and located within a fully enclosed permanent structure.