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County moves to scrap burn permits

The county commission is moving forward with its plan to get rid of burn permits during periods when fire restrictions are in place.

The reasoning behind the move is that the fire warden is already authorized to temporarily lift burn re-strictions when conditions improve, and seldom approves permits during a full ban. Combined, the commission feels these facts negate the need for individual permission.

The commissioners discussed the possibility of retaining the permits during stage one restrictions only last week, while removing them when a full ban is in place.

Fire Warden Charlie Harrison noted that he agreed with removing permits in a full ban. A person could submit the perfect plan for a safe burn during severe fire danger, he said, but fire is unpredictable and "the answer is still probably no".

"If we have a fire ban on, it's on for a reason," agreed Commissioner Bob Latham. He commented that permits do very little other than to add more pain in the middle of a burn ban, as it upsets landowners when their requests must be denied.

When restrictions are in place but not a full burn ban, however, Harrison has the authority to turn the restrictions on and off as conditions allow.

County Attorney Joe Baron explained that a lawsuit was filed in 2015 in Weston County in the wake of the Oil Creek Fire, in which the landowners sued the power company when the lines dropped and caused it to start. As a result of this, he said, it became apparent that the state has no law in place to re-cover fire suppression funds on a fire caused by negligence on private lands.

Consequently, the county's rules state that a person wanting a permit to burn during fire restrictions must take personal responsibility for any ill effects and must have $5 million in insurance available.

If the county decided to continue allowing permit applications during such a time, Commissioner Fred Devish suggested that the insurance liability could be increased to $10 million to reflect the fact that the original sum was put in place at least 15 years ago.

The conversation turned to items that could be added to the permit, such as the need to obtain permis-sion from the neighbors. It became apparent that this could be a monumental task: exactly how far afield would permission be needed, when a fire can quickly run for several miles in severe conditions?

With this in mind, the commissioners agreed that it is easier for all involved to rely on the fire warden to keep an eye on conditions and allow burning when they are agreeable.

Harrison noted that, if the commission moves forward, he would like to see a specific permit created to allow the county to evaluate large-scale fire displays, such as July 4 events at Devils Tower and Keyhole Reservoir.

In these cases, he said, a plan has been created long before the event and firefighter resources have been assigned.

In addition, said Harrison, large-scale displays make it less likely that celebrants will choose to purchase and use their own fireworks, which can be significantly more dangerous as there are likely no firefighter resources nearby.

The commission indicated that the issue will be worked on over the next month to be considered for a final decision in February.

 
 

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