DENVER (KDVR) — Firefighters found 24 abandoned campfires in the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands over Memorial Day weekend, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service.
The Forest Service said on Thursday that firefighters also responded to four wildfires across the forest during the holiday weekend, with three determined to be caused by humans and one the result of lightning.
“The wildfires were quickly contained but triggered the reminder that we all must do our part to not let a wildfire start,” the Forest Service said in a news release.
The federal agency warned it “takes only one spark” in the “wrong place at the right time” to start a wildfire that can “put human lives and natural and cultural resources and infrastructure at risk.”
Recreational target shooting, dragging chains and abandoned campfires were singled out by the Forest Service as examples of what could cause a wildfire.
Help prevent wildfires
The Forest Service provided several rules that forest and grassland visitors can abide by to prevent wildfires, including:
Build campfires in an area that is cleared of vegetation
Never abandon or leave a campfire unattended
Always have plenty of water and a shovel nearby
Extinguish campfires by drowning, stirring and repeating until it’s the consistency of a mud pie and cold to the touch.
The agency urged any forest and grassland visitors who come across an abandoned campfire to extinguish it if possible and, if not, to call the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands’ local nonemergency number at 719-533-1400.
