As unusually dry weather continues in the region, Montezuma County has become the first entity to enact fire restrictions.
On Monday, the Montezuma commissioners voted to ban open fires and the use of fireworks on county land, effective April 16th. Their resolution cited risks of grass fires and wildfires in unincorporated parts of the county.
The Durango Interagency Dispatch Center has counted 23 wildfires in Southwestern Colorado so far this year. Nine of those fires have burned five acres or more. Other municipalities, tribes, and public lands in the region do not yet have fire restrictions in effect, though fireworks are never allowed on public or tribal lands.
