Fire danger in the Roaring Fork Valley

With an Indian summer upon us, the valley's fire chiefs sent out the following smoke signal:

“Firefighters, sheriffs and fire chiefs in the Roaring Fork Valley are requesting your vigilance in preventing wildfires.

“With the unusually high temperatures combined with the lack of precipitation the danger of a devastating fire is very likely unless extreme caution is used by everyone. The entire valley has seen very low humidity levels recently. That fact in combination with the amount of cured grasses and dried dead leaves creates an extreme fire potential in most valley areas. Many trees in the valley have suffered due to a lack of rain and are now extremely flammable as well.

“We urge you not to burn campfires, ditches, and slash piles at this time, it is simply not worth the risk. When cooking outdoors use propane as it is much safer than charcoal. Smoke in safe areas and extinguish cigarettes properly. ATVs, motorcycles and chainsaws must have working spark arresters, and never park over tall grass and brush as your vehicle will start a fire.

“Due to these tenuous conditions, no open burn permits are being issued by most area fire departments. Please check with your local department when the weather conditions may permit open burning again.”

The weather has been especially balmy in the valley this week and it was just a couple short weeks ago that wildfires had homeowners running scared near Boulder and Loveland. More recently, farmlands on the outskirts of Greeley have suspiciously and repeatedly ignited leaving many residents there on edge.

River Name / Location	Stream flow, ft3/s	Gage height ft
Gore Creek
At Upper Station, Near I-70 Twin Bridges	n/a	4 ft
Booth Creek	n/a	4 ft
Abv Red Sandstone Creek At Vail	182	6 ft
At Mouth Near Minturn	217	7 ft
Beaver Creek
At Avon	21	2 ft
Lake Creek
Near Edwards	80	1 ft
Cross Creek
Near Minturn	104	4 ft
Homestake Creek
At Gold Park	121	5 ft
Eagle River
East Fork Eagle River Near Climax	n/a	2 ft
At Red Cliff	30	3 ft
Near Minturn	237	4 ft
Wastewater Treatment Plant At Avon	675	5 ft
Below Gypsum	853	5 ft
Colorado River
Near Kremmling	407	4 ft
Near Dotsero	1,630	3 ft
Below Glenwood Springs	3,180	5 ft
Near Cameo	3,760	6 ft
Below Grand Valley Div Nr Palisade	2,080	5 ft
Near Colorado-utah State Line	4,120	4 ft
Near Cisco, Ut	4,020	3 ft
At Lees Ferry, Az	12,000	9 ft
Near Grand Canyon, Az	12,300	9 ft
Yuma Main Canal Ww At Yuma, Az	1,010	10 ft
Roaring Fork River
Abv Lost Man Cr Near Aspen	n/a	n/a ft
Ab Difficult C Nr Aspen	52	1 ft
Near Aspen	78	1 ft
Near Emma	480	6 ft
At Glenwood Springs	1,180	3 ft
Hunter Creek
Near Aspen	56	2 ft
At Aspen	48	4 ft
Frying Pan River
Near Ruedi	113	2 ft
Crystal River
Abv Avalanche Crk, Near Redstone	540	2 ft
Arkansas River
Ef Arkansas R At Us Highway 24, Nr Leadville	47	3 ft
Near Leadville	86	5 ft
Below Empire Gulch Near Malta	159	4 ft
Below Granite	429	4 ft
Near Nathrop	451	4 ft
At Parkdale	464	3 ft