Fire safety must go beyond local ban

The Boulder County Commissioners are expected this week to ratify the fire ban imposed by Sheriff Joe Pelle last week.

The action is cursory, but critical.

Acting in concert with Larimer County Sheriff Jim Alderden, Pelle's fire ban encompasses unincorporated Boulder County in an area that could generally be described as the mountainous western half of the county.

A map of the area covered by the fire ban is posted at www.bouldersheriff.org.

However, the official ban is only a step in the right direction to prevent fires during this already unseasonably hot time of the year.

The prohibitions in the ban include open burning, sale and discharge of fireworks and prescribed burning.

The concepts included in the ban also should be thought of throughout the county, however.

With the continuing heat and the lack of rainfall, the entire Front Range is turning into a tinder box.

So, despite the exclusion of liquid-fueled or gas-fueled stoves, fireplaces within buildings, charcoal fires at private residences or permanent fire pits or fire grates on developed picnic sites or campgrounds, residents should be extremely cautious in those locations as well.

And, while not proscribed by the ban, cigarette smoking is a major cause of grass fires and discarding cigarettes should be done carefully.

Too often in the past, carelessness has led to serious fires — both in the mountainous areas and on the Front Range.

Take safety measures during summer activities

In what certainly was a cautionary tale recently, two missing persons were found alive in the Colorado backcountry after disappearing for four days.

Eight-year-old Evan Thompson of Lakewood was discovered alive and uninjured, days after wandering away from his family during the Memorial Day weekend at a campsite in the mountains north of Cañon City.

Just two days later, rescuers found Terry Harlon of Shreveport, La., in Rocky Mountain National Park, four days after he failed to show up for a flight to Dallas. Harlon reportedly was vacationing in the state.

With more residents and outsiders enjoying the best of what Colorado has to offer, it raises concern for both young and old to be safe while hiking, camping, rafting, swimming or even simply traveling this summer.

Recently, the Associated Press reported Colorado has the eighth worst rate of motorcycle deaths in the nation, with the state being the only one in the top 10 that doesn’t require helmets.

Motorcycle deaths rose to 4,008 in 2004 compared to 2,116 in 1997.

Whether required helmet use would have prevented any of these deaths is something we will never know. It is a precaution that might save someone and is easy to use.

This time of year is a peak season for many to get out into the sun and soak up the state’s scenery, but it also can be an extremely dangerous time if residents aren’t thinking safety first.

In the case of the missing vacationers, it’s best to stay in a group or at least let someone else in your party know where you are heading if traveling alone in the rugged mountains.

It’s important to remember cell phones can be useless in certain areas of the mountains without a proper signal tower.

Perhaps young Evan would have been better off with a whistle to blow in case he got lost while out camping. It may sound like a simple solution, but it could help as parents must take a proactive approach when spending time in the outdoors.

These incidents thankfully have turned out with a happy ending, but without awareness, the next may not be as fortunate.