Eagle County’s fire danger is very high, but officials aren’t yet ready for fire restrictions
The opening weekend of big game rifle season has put a number of campers into the backcountry

Eagle Valley Wildland/courtesy image
Summit County recently went into Stage 1 fire restrictions. Eagle County isn’t there yet, but we probably aren’t far from it.
Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek, the county’s top fire official, said fuel moisture and other fire danger numbers are “creeping up.”
Here’s the National Weather Service forecast for Vail through Oct. 15.
• Sunday: Mostly sunny, high near 66, low around 36.
• Monday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65 and a 10% chance of showers. Low near 36.
• Tuesday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 65, low near 35.
Fire officials across the region every season hold weekly calls regarding fire danger and the science behind weather and fuel moisture. A moist summer led those officials to stop holding those calls after the first week of September, van Beek said. Then the region hit an extended dry spell, leading those officials to start holding the calls again.
But, van Beek said, cooler daytime and nighttime temperatures have helped keep fire danger down, and the National Weather Service hasn’t lately issued any red flag fire weather warnings, warnings about humidity, wind and temperature that can lead to extreme wildfire behavior.
The region in past weeks has been “warm and dry, not hot and dry,” van Beek said.

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Vail Fire Department Wildland Fire Specialist Paul Cada said it’s “not uncommon” for this time of year to have fire danger increase. But, he said, while fire danger around the region is ranging from “high” to “very high,” he agrees with van Beek’s assessment that it isn’t quite time to impose Stage 1 fire restrictions.
But, Cada said, “It is a time for people to pay attention and be sure to practice good fire safety.”
Cada noted that all the vegetation around the roadsides has gone dormant, and the wet summer means those grasses and other plants grew tall over the summer. And, he added, while it takes longer to warm up in the daytime hours and overnight temperatures are cooler, a dragged chain on the road or a carelessly tossed cigarette can still ignite a wildfire.
Fire safety in the backcountry this time of year is critical, since this weekend marks the first rifle season for big-game hunting.
Cada said he’s already seeing a number of hunters heading into the backcountry toward Piney Lake and onto Vail Mountain. Other hunting parties are heading into other backcountry areas around the county.
In a text message, White River National Forest Public Affairs Officer David Boyd noted the Forest Service has 12 people on its recreation crew who will be out throughout the hunting seasons.
“We’re asking everyone to be careful with fire and use common sense,” Boyd wrote.
Gypsum Fire Protection District Chief Justin Kirkland echoed that sentiment, asking both campers and hunters to “take extra caution,” and to fully extinguish all fires.
