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In a Colorado county known for its ski resorts, penalties for violating fire restrictions are going up.
The Sheriff’s Office for Summit County—home to Centennial State classics like Keystone and Arapahoe Basin—announced on Tuesday that if you run afoul of the restrictions, you’ll pay far more than you did in the past.
In a press release, local officials noted that the increased penalty, from $150 for a first offense to $1,000 per occurrence, was “meant to underscore the seriousness of wildfire danger in the county.”
While it's a sizable jump for Summit County, the change aligns with neighboring Grand County, where each violation already carries a $1,000 fine.
Earlier this week, the Summit County Board of County Commissioners adopted a revised and restated fire restriction ordinance. This replaced an “outdated version” and allowed the BOCC “to enact fire restrictions and impose penalties for violations.”
“It’s easy to do the right thing and follow the rules when we’re facing extraordinary fire danger,” said Eric Mamula, Summit County Commissioner, in the release. “This updated ordinance aligns with how seriously we all need to take these fire restrictions and work together to reduce the chances of a wildfire in Summit County.”
Summit County Sheriff Jaime FitzSimons called restrictions an “important wildfire prevention tool,” adding that “the increased penalty will certainly attract attention and, hopefully, reduce violations and protect our community.”
As of now, Summit County remains under stage two fire restrictions, according to the Sheriff’s Office. The restrictions cover numerous types of open flames, from camp fires to fireworks. See the complete list below.
While the measure didn’t specifically call out ski resorts they, like towns and forests across the West, often face elevated wildfire risk during the warmer months. This summer has proven no different. Cracking down on restriction violations could help.
In Colorado, Steamboat Springs Resort turned on its snow guns to saturate the ground as the Fishhook fire burned near its boundaries, but said in its most recent update that there is no threat to the ski slopes at this time. In Utah, swathes of Eagle Point Resort were consumed by the Cottonwood Fire in June.
Related: Ski Resort Transformed By Nearly Seven Feet of Snow In Less Than a Week
