Baca County Sheriff Urges Fire Safety as Drought Raises Wildfire Risk, Proposed Fire Ban Under Review

Description: Baca County Sheriff Aaron Shiplett warns residents of high wildfire risk due to drought conditions and urges no open burning as officials consider a fire ban ordinance to protect life and property. Read the Full Letter to the Community from the Baca County Sheriff...

Sheriff Shiplett Calls for Extreme Caution Amid Elevated Fire Danger in Baca County

Dear Baca County Residents,

Fire season is upon us and has been for a while now.  We are currently in varying degrees of drought in Baca County, the state, and in many parts of this nation.  The fire danger remains high in Baca County and I don’t see much relief in the foreseeable future.  As you all have probably noticed there are, and have been, several large fires in some nearby counties and states that have caused a tremendous amount of property damage, stretched firefighting resources and communities to their breaking points, and unfortunately have even cost a few people their lives.

Before I move on with this message, I would like to take this opportunity to express my deep appreciation and gratitude to our fantastic volunteer firefighters and volunteer fire departments in Baca County.  They have ALL done a tremendous job battling the fires that we have had up to this point, and they have been able to keep those fires and the damage they have caused to a minimum.  They have also traveled to surrounding jurisdictions to assist those jurisdictions with their firefighting efforts.  Likewise, those surrounding volunteer fire departments have sent resources to help our local fire departments when we needed additional resources.  Please, take the time to personally thank them for their exemplary service when you see them.

In the interest of public safety and in defense of life and property, the Baca County Sheriff’s Office, the Baca County Office of Emergency Management, several local fire chiefs, and the Baca County Commissioners have begun the process of adopting an ordinance in Baca County that would give the commissioners and local emergency officials the ability to enact and enforce varying degrees of fire bans inside Baca County depending upon fire and drought conditions, the availability of firefighting resources, and several other fire related factors.  The Baca County Commissioners Office will be publishing a copy of this proposed ordinance in the coming days and will also be conducting a public meeting to discuss this new proposed ordinance. We do not embark on this endeavor lightly, nor do we intend to interfere with the livelihoods or daily enjoyment of the Baca County residents or visitors to our county.  We do so with the specific intent to protect all of Baca County in this time of drought and extreme fire danger we currently find ourselves in.  

In the meantime, while we work through the process of passing this vitally important ordinance, I am pleading with all Baca County residents and visitors to exercise extreme caution and take every opportunity to refrain from ANY type of open burning in the county until further notice.  

As your Sheriff, I serve as the fire marshal for all unincorporated areas of Baca County pursuant to Colorado State Law.  It is important to note that there are varying degrees of arson in the State of Colorado, and the following is a brief breakdown of fourth degree arson taken from current Colorado State Law.  Fourth degree arson is specifically noted here because it simply requires that a person, “knowingly or recklessly start or maintain a fire on his own property or that of another and by doing so places any building or occupied structure of another in danger of damage commits fourth degree arson”.

18-4-105. Fourth degree arson.

(1) A person who knowingly or recklessly starts or maintains a fire or causes an explosion, on his own property or that of another, and by so doing places another in danger of death or serious bodily injury or places any building or occupied structure of another in danger of damage commits fourth degree arson.

(2) Fourth degree arson is a class 4 felony if a person is thus endangered.

(3) Fourth degree arson is:

(a) A petty offense if only property is thus endangered and the value of the property is less than three hundred dollars;

(b) A class 2 misdemeanor if only property is thus endangered and the value of the property is three hundred dollars or more but less than one thousand dollars;

(c) A class 1 misdemeanor if only property is thus endangered and the value of the property is one thousand dollars or more but less than two thousand dollars;

(d) A class 6 felony if only property is thus endangered and the value of the property is two thousand dollars or more but less than five thousand dollars;

(e) A class 5 felony if only property is thus endangered and the value of the property is five thousand dollars or more but less than twenty thousand dollars;

(f) A class 4 felony if only property is thus endangered and the value of the property is twenty thousand dollars or more but less than one hundred thousand dollars;

(g) A class 3 felony if only property is thus endangered and the value of the property is one hundred thousand dollars or more but less than one million dollars; and

(h) A class 2 felony if only property is thus endangered and the value of the property is one million dollars or more.

(4) Repealed.

(5) It shall not be an arson offense pursuant to this section if:

(a) A person starts and maintains a fire as a controlled agricultural burn in a reasonably cautious manner; and

(b) No person suffers any of the following as a result of the fire:

(I) Bodily injury;

(II) Serious bodily injury; or

(III) Death.

(6) For purposes of this section, “controlled agricultural burn” means a technique used in farming to clear the land of any existing crop residue, kill weeds and weed seeds, or reduce fuel buildup and decrease the likelihood of a future fire.

These are just some of the criminal penalties a person could face if they start a fire and it burns, or even threatens the property of another.  There would almost certainly be enormous civil penalties involved also, not to mention the mental and emotional anguish that a person would suffer knowing that someone lost their home, barn, or God forbid their life, just because a person decided to be irresponsible or careless with fire during such volatile fire conditions.   

We ALL owe it to each other to reduce the chances of a fire changing this community and our lives forever.  Because of the extreme drought conditions we are currently facing, the risk of fires from natural causes will be a big enough challenge in the coming months.  Let’s give our emergency responders a break and keep them safe at home.  Let’s do our best to give them a “boring summer” with no “man-made” fires.  

The Baca County Sheriff’s Office, Baca County Office of Emergency Management, Baca County Commissioners, and all of our local emergency responders appreciate your cooperation and willingness to exercise common sense in regards to fire safety.

Aaron Shiplett

Baca County Sheriff

Tweet