Fire warden Jeramy Jorgensen visited the Carbon County Commissioners during their Wednesday evening meeting to present them with an update on the 2020 wildland fire season.
Jorgensen provided the commissioners with a spreadsheet that highlighted all of the fires in the county so far this year. He then started off with the first item, which was that there have been 15 fires in the county so far. The first incident was the Water Canyon Fire in August, where the coke ovens are near East Carbon.
Human-caused fires totaled around 106 acres and they were all on private land. He then spoke about the Carbonville fire that occurred during the Fourth of July weekend. He stated that those are the two fires that were delegated to the county so far.
Jorgensen informed the commissioners that the spreadsheet presented covered acreage, land owners and other information. He had previously written six burn permits in the county and passed out a copy of the state fire restrictions that went into effect in late July, which remain in effect. Jorgensen said that he does not see the restrictions being lifted any time soon with how dry the climate is.
He then informed those in attendance that to burn without a permit during the restrictions, it is considered a class B misdemeanor. As of Sept. 9, human-caused starts totaled over 900 in the state. In 2019, there were only 566 and in 2018 there were only 614. This makes up 75% of fires that have been seen in the state.
Jorgensen concluded by stating that it was announced that the fire season may be extended into October or November. More information can be viewed by clicking here.