Campfires and barbecues are prohibited unless they are within a designated campground.
Kristi Schroeder with the U.S. Forest Service says she usually doesn’t see the forest this dry until mid-July:
“Our machinery can measure and evaluate how much moisture is left in those sticks and, based on that, that’ll tell us what our forest environment is.”
There are also restrictions on smoking, welding, and the use of any combustion engine. The fine for a violation is as much as $5,000.
Schroeder says all of the Eldorado National Forest could be under restriction by the end of the month, depending on how many of the fire fighters assigned to the area are called away to fight fires.
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