Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Have an interesting or epic climbing story? Post it here.
Forum rules
  • This is a mountaineering forum, so please keep your posts on-topic. Posts do not all have to be related to the 14ers but should at least be mountaineering-related.
  • Personal attacks and confrontational behavior will result in removal from the forum at the discretion of the administrators.
  • Do not use this forum to advertise, sell photos or other products or promote a commercial website.
  • Posts will be removed at the discretion of the site administrator or moderator(s), including: Troll posts, posts pushing political views or religious beliefs, and posts with the purpose of instigating conflict within the forum.
For more details, please see the Terms of Use you agreed to when joining the forum.
User avatar
gdthomas
Posts: 1983
Joined: 6/15/2005
14ers: 58 
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by gdthomas »

You experienced an common occurrence among egocentric humans i.e., "It's ok to disregard a rule because I won't get caught." This type of thing happens all the time and it's not confined to fire bans. Sounds like you would have been better off dealing with a bear than those assholes.
User avatar
Jim Davies
Posts: 7638
Joined: 6/8/2006
14ers: 58  1 
13ers: 67
Trip Reports (5)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by Jim Davies »

tmathews wrote:Well, yeah, several counties have Stage 2 under effect, but right now the statewide ban is only Stage 1 (I only referenced the statewide ban because Taylor referenced Hickenlooper).
Arapaho National Forest, which includes Stevens Gulch, has a Stage 2 ban.

It's really confusing trying to keep up with all the fire bans in different jurisdictions. It would be nice if they'd unify this someday.
Climbing at altitude is like hitting your head against a brick wall — it's great when you stop. -- Chris Darwin
I'm pretty tired. I think I'll go home now. -- Forrest Gump
tmathews
Posts: 3460
Joined: 7/2/2008
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by tmathews »

Jim Davies wrote:
tmathews wrote:Well, yeah, several counties have Stage 2 under effect, but right now the statewide ban is only Stage 1 (I only referenced the statewide ban because Taylor referenced Hickenlooper).
Arapaho National Forest, which includes Stevens Gulch, has a Stage 2 ban.

It's really confusing trying to keep up with all the fire bans in different jurisdictions. It would be nice if they'd unify this someday.
Yeah, White River National Forest issued a Stage 2 ban last Friday, too.
User avatar
MonGoose
Posts: 1110
Joined: 8/14/2009
14ers: 58  16  17 
13ers: 51 11 1
Trip Reports (16)
 
Contact:

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by MonGoose »

I passed 5 signs stating the fire ban was in effect in the Maroon Bells - Snowmass Wilderness area:
1) The Ranger station on Maroon Creek road
2) The parking lot at Maroon Lake
3) The Wilderness registration box at Maroon Lake
4) The turnoff at the Crater Lake junction
5) Each individual camp site (1-11) at Crater Lake

I think the message was pretty clear. Also, these folks were probably in their mid to late 30's.
User avatar
TaylorHolt
Posts: 761
Joined: 5/6/2012
14ers: 58  2  15 
13ers: 210 7
Trip Reports (8)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by TaylorHolt »

tmathews wrote:
Lemmiwinks wrote:Seperate arguement: I can't believe that campfires in metal containers are even legal at this point when there is a "State-wide Fire Ban." Hello.....Governor.....
The statewide fire ban right now is Stage 1. Under Stage 1, campfires in permanent fire pits can be allowed (rock rings to not count) at developed sites. Here's some info.
Possible Exemptions

1. Persons with a written permit specifically authorizing the otherwise prohibited act or omission.
2. Fires in constructed, permanent fire pits or fire grates within developed recreation sites.
3. Any Federal, State, or local officer or member of an organized rescue or firefighting force
in the performance of an official duty.
4. Mechanical stoves and appliances fueled by bottled or liquid gas which allow the operator
to control or extinguish the flame with a valve are permitted provided that such devices are approved by Underwriters Laboratory Inc.
5. Owners or lessees of land in the restricted area.
6. Residents in the restricted area.

Yeah, I understand the stages, but if you are going to call it a "Fire Ban," it should actually be a fire ban.
“If you're bumming out, you're not gonna get to the top, so as long as we're up here we might as well make a point of grooving." -Scott Fischer
tmathews
Posts: 3460
Joined: 7/2/2008
Trip Reports (0)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by tmathews »

Lemmiwinks wrote:Yeah, I understand the stages, but if you are going to call it a "Fire Ban," it should actually be a fire ban.
Yeah, that's bad wording. Technically, they're referred to as fire "restrictions".
User avatar
its_not_a_tuba
Posts: 820
Joined: 8/13/2009
14ers: 36  1  2 
13ers: 5
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by its_not_a_tuba »

I was up car camping in Geneva basin this last weekend and was horrified by what was going on. During the day tons of families were collecting huge stockpiles of wood. We warned a few people but still there were multiple sites that not only had fires, they were huge. One family had a fire going with flames reaching into the trees. Fortunately the ranger made his way up the valley and wrote tickets to all of them. It was very satisfying to watch.
"Wilderness settles peace on the soul because it needs no help. It is beyond human contrivance." -- E.O. Wilson
User avatar
RoanMtnMan
Posts: 738
Joined: 3/23/2008
14ers: 45 
Trip Reports (19)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by RoanMtnMan »

MonGoose wrote:I don't even feed the marmots
Who the hell does? Is this tempting. You can hunt them from Aug 10-Oct 15 you know.

The stupidity of all people concern me, but most of all my own, I do my best to reign it in. And there is the stupidity of the people that came up with fire ban rules that they can't enforce and have little effect on the likelyhood of forest fires.. As I have stated before people that are inexperienced and irresponsible enough to start forest fires also ignore fire bans. The rest of us just suffer. I wonder how that arsonist down in Woodland Park that started 15 fires and nearly burned down my best friends home feels about that fire ban? I am sure he read all the signs.
Always follow the 7 P's. Proper Planning & Preparation, Prevents Piss-Poor Performance.

"An adventure is misery and discomfort, relived in the safety of reminiscence.” --Marco Polo

http://www.CalebWrayPhotography.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
User avatar
mountaingoat-G
Posts: 820
Joined: 9/21/2007
14ers: 23  5  1 
13ers: 21 6 1
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by mountaingoat-G »

Forest Service was patrolling Halfmoon Creek road Sunday evening...
RobertPetrowsky
Posts: 204
Joined: 5/23/2007
14ers: 20  4 
13ers: 8
Trip Reports (1)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by RobertPetrowsky »

Going back to an early comment about people not using news media anymore that is no excuse. I work in Vail and drive from Leadville and I can say with 100% certainty that ALL of the overhead VMS signs on the road have the fire ban listed and we have sandwich signs up at the bottom of the offramps in Vail with detailed descriptions of the fire ban. It is not possible to drive from Denver to Aspen without knowing it is illegal to have a fire and that the fire danger is extreme.
User avatar
speth
Posts: 684
Joined: 4/16/2010
14ers: 58  5 
13ers: 44
Trip Reports (3)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by speth »

Drove down Lefthand Canyon and Lee Hill in Boulder this weekend, LOTS of activity from fire-service SUVS. There was also an SUV parked in Ward that had MARSHALL written on the side. Like "Fire Marshall", maybe?

All I want is to just have fun, live my life like a son of a gun
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Sarcasm or not, it's not even funny to post something like this. Not at this time. Reported.
User avatar
Craig Cook
Posts: 265
Joined: 5/3/2011
14ers: 16 
13ers: 4
Trip Reports (13)
 

Re: Stupidity of Some People Concerning Fire Ban

Post by Craig Cook »

While reading about the stupidity of people in this situation is saddening, I can't say I'm surprised. I'd like to think that people would have the common sense not to start fires when raging wildfires like Fort Collins and Colorado Springs are going on. Then I read about people burning trash in Estes Park ](*,) and tossing lit cigarettes out their car windows while leaving Estes Park because of the fire! :wft: ](*,) :wft:

I'm especially worried about driving out there on July 8, just a few days after the Fourth of July. I can't imagine how many people will ignore the ban on fireworks and set who knows how many areas ablaze.

Somewhat random question (or two): Can stage 3 fire bans go by county, or once it hits stage 3, is it automatically state-wide? And if there is a stage 3 ban in place, can peaks sitting on private property be hiked? I think I read that Sherman is owned by a mining company, and some of the DeCaLiBron peaks are privately owned as well. Would these peaks still be closed? I'm sure there are other examples of this as well (i.e. Culebra).
Post Reply