E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSRain and cooler temperatures on Sunday prompted Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper to lift a statewide fire ban as the threat of wildfires subsided.
“Mother Nature is finally giving us some relief,” Hickenlooper said in a press release. “Even though the 2012 wildfire season is far from over and still challenging, we believe conditions are such that local authorities and federal land managers ought to resume control over fire bans in their jurisdictions. Many counties have fire bans in place that will not change as a result of this executive order.”
Fire crews have gained the upper hand on existing major fires in Colorado and no new fires have been reported, the governor said.
The Waldo Canyon fire, which destroyed nearly 350 homes, making it the most destructive wildfire in state history, was 98 percent contained. The fire burned more than 18,000 acres and killed two residents. Early estimates place the property damage well in excess of $110 million.
The High Park fire is 100 percent contained, the Weber fire is 90 percent contained and the Little Sand fire is 40 percent contained.
“We will continue to monitor the fire danger across the state and re-enact the state-wide ban if necessary as conditions change,”Hickenlooper said.
The fire ban was imposed June 14. It applied to open burning, including campfires, warming fires, charcoal grill fires, fused explosives and private use of fireworks.
More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:
- NYPD: Mother gassed 2 kids to death, then tried to kill self
- 2 kids left in cars on sweltering day - 1 dies
- Credit card transactions canceled at Calif. medical pot dispensaries
- Thousands of dead fish another sign of the (heat) times
- Video: In East L.A., newspaper uplifts troubled neighborhood
Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook
Leave a Comment:
Now lets get out there and start up right where we left of with stupid and unsafe fire related outdoor activities.
These fires are obamas fault. if his green energy plans hadn't failed, none of this would have happened. I mean if Katrina was Bushs fault, then these fires have to be the fault of obama.
Sorry libs, but its true. These fires are obamas fault. The tornadoes in alabama last year were also obamas fault.
Its funny how the media didn't go on a tirade blaming obama for all this natural disaster stuff.
I like your sarcasm.
John nobody blamed President Bush for the hurricane, but they do blame him for the slow rection of FEMA and other Federal Agencies. You don't have to turn everything political.
Fire ban or not, from what it sounds like there isn't much left to burn anyway. Might as well enjoy a cold beer by a small fire on a summers night.
Manage your forests.
Now if they would re-build using AAC block,they may still have homes.Autoclaved Aireated Concrete block,will not burn,and lots of great features in one block.Built my home with it and am glad I did.Never worry about it burning,termites,etc. Hopefully some will check out and build with.
Beepbeep,
The problem with any home built with fire resistant materials is that the fire gets in through the windows! Just the radiant heat going through the glass will ignite window coverings or anything flammable inside and the house burns from the inside out. Most people don't understand that and are shocked to find their "fire-proof" house burned out. You would have to have fire-proof shutters for all of your windows to really have any chance of not burning.
It was the arsonists and lightning that started all the burns anyway.
If it wasn't because of global warming, then the lightning wouldn't have occured, and the fires would have never started.
Stupid conservatives and their anti global warming is the reason the lightning happened. Its the fault of fox news why there is still lightning today starting even more fires.
Everything ties to politics? Sad life......
Gov., you should have left them in place.......................
Is it now safe to do fireworks that were allowed to be sold but not used in our backyards with a hose ready in case a sparkler gets out of hand?
Too bad our elected officials made complicated legislation that allowed the forest to get so dead to begin with and not allow it to be cleaned out. Hickenpooper and all CO politicians are responsible for these fires.
Tess F......Hello! First of all, the time period for fireworks is over and here in Colorado Springs there is STILL a ban on any fireworks. Second, the Waldo Canyon fire was not fueled by pine beetle killed trees. The majority of the trees burned were healthy pine and scrub oak, commonly referred to as "oak brush" Too bad your a dumb ass
Right, and years of reduced snow pack and rain, with warmer temperatures in the winter, which doesn't kill off pine beetle larvae, is somehow Hickenloopers fault...
S. McIlnay-beetle kill comes from not thinning out the forest so the trees are not as healthy as they could be. Regardless of what the cause they need to remove the dead trees in the high country. Whole mountain sides are completely covered with dead trees-this is managed by the Forest Service-all Hick can do is call the Feds
Beetle kill comes and goes with time. Not thinning out the forests of living trees and letting the forests get overgrown with dead trees only compounds the problem. Long, cold winters, with long, low temperatures kill pine beetle larvae. Again, I ask, how is this Hickenlooper's fault? Next please.
One of the worst fires in History and this Guy LIFTS the Fire Ban Already. Nothing wrong with this guy. Duuuuuhhh.
He's a Democrat so it is to be expected. <:)
I just spent a week up in Grand County and the only ones stupid enough to still be playing with fireworks were the redneck conservitive saying it is their Constitutional Right to set them off.
should go back to playing with his trains, cause has no clue about the Fire Service or what they face......or how long it takes to put out a fire....for sure.....Maybe would see the light if it was his house burning...or burnt to the ground
This guy must be completely out of his mind.
OK you kids can have a small out door fire,But you have to buy a 100 dollar permit, plus Tax :)
Thanks, Howdey-Doodey!
A little bit of rain, and it's open season.
You are, indeed, an idiot.
No DOUBT! What the hell is he thinking?
To bad the environmentalist don't want the forrests harvested as they should be. If that had happened perhaps the fires would not have been so sever. And yes, there will always be that dumb ass that thinks he/she needs to build a BIG fire to have fun. So far as fireworks go, lots of states don't allow for private fireworks. If you bought fireworks knowing there were fires and a ban on such, that's on you.
My heart goes out to the many who suffered through this disaster. We lost over 1600 homes in one fire alone last summer in central Texas. Thousands of others from the numerous fires scattered across West Texas. As we are not a swing state or in play for Dear Leader we were denied any disaster status or even a visit by Dear Leader to inspect the chaos. Your area will recover and lessons will be learned from the experience.
Uh, wait a minute...I thought you Texans didn't need no stinkin' help from them meddling Feds? Second, disaster aid has to be asked for, and if that embarrassment of a Governor didn't ask for help... Perhaps Perry didn't ask for help because of his own political ambitions (that went nowhere)?
You can peddle you "Dear Leader" crap--its a sort-of free country--but most Americans ain't gonna buy it.
hickendipper, is like most those who believe in global warming, once believed in a on set of a ice age, neither know there shorts from a dish rag, Pride of the stupid shows itself again.
"fire when ready" !!!
I'm glad things are finally easing up for them ....
Fox, the Gov said the state doesn't have to decide this, municipalities and counties can make their own call. That is the local control Fox News wants, better get your mind right. The mountains around C Springs have had several inches of rain in the last 5 days, the monsoon is here, and strong currently. Also, the word you seek is "their." Plus your punctuation is creative, to be charitable. Ironic of your post to dis on stupidity.
Pine beetles only were able to kill huge stands of timber here only after 5 consecutive years of too-warm winters. Thinning the forests is an after-the-crisis solution to reduce risk of fire. It was never considered as a remedy for beetle kill. Climate change is real; expanding droughts, increasing wildfires, melting glaciers, raising sea levels, breaking high temperature records. We have been warned by scientists for decades. But global warming was deemed "bad for business," and had to be argued beyond rationality by GOP talking heads. Around here, business was pretty bad when blocks of high end homes burned, highways closed for a week, and 34000 were evacuated. What is truly bad for business is disregarding the truth in order to advance your current political agenda. Some would say, "stupid."
BTW, Romney fans: Mormonism is fundamentally socialist. Look it up.
These fires are obviously Obamas fault.
I have no idea what Gov. Hickenlooper could possibly be thinking. We have had rain but once this nice cold, wet front has gone through and the temps hit record highs again we will be back to where we were prior. The tourism has been hit hard here and he is knee jerking. The fire in Colorado Springs is not out yet (completely.) 3-4 days of dry, hot weather will make us a tinder box again.
Give thanks for rain!
Is this guy just plain stupid, or dumb. Just like ALL the rest of the politiciansbrain dead. Going to take more than a that little rain to makle it safe....maybe HE should ask the people who lost home and property. Needs to go back and try running the state not the Fire Service.....Cause has NO clue what so ever. Maybe if his house burnt to the ground would see things differently
I have a pretty good insurance agent,but a word of advice to all-take the time to read what is on your policy and what is covered, they have taken big hits the last few years and the devil is in the fine print.
No reason for everyone to freak out. If you caught the local news this morning you would have heard that both El Paso and Pueblo counties are not lifting their stage II restrictions until they have made their own assessments.
Ban Obama.