Red flag warnings intersect with ditch-burn seasons

Billy and Peter Grange recently finished their ditch burns for the season along the Grace Shehi Ditch. It’s usually a two-man job, they said, but some riskier sections of the ditch can require up to five workers. When the snow melts on the valley floor, smoke plumes from ditch burns are quick to follow.

But with red flag warnings coming earlier and more often, the balance of where and when to burn is trickier for agricultural and residential efforts. The National Weather Service issues red flag warnings with input from the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit for the region, a way to identify areas by fire risk without involving county or municipal borders. As of Friday, Zones 203 and 205 below 7,000 feet elevation (which includes a large part of the Roaring Fork Valley) are under a Red Flag Warning for much of the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.



Low humidity, sustained winds and fuel modeling all factor into a red flag issuance. In April, there have been at least five days of fire-related watches or restrictions issued in the Roaring Fork Valley. For fire departments, they’re a way to regulate burning and manage fire risks.

Like in a burn ban, no burning is allowed under a red flag warning. Burn bans have “no relief in sight,” said Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Chief Scott Thompson. Red flag warnings are for shorter periods of unfavorable burning conditions.

While it’s less intense than an outright burn ban, Thompson said he’s seeing red flags come earlier every year — even some wildfires catch in the dead of winter when snowpack is low. “We’re saying red flag in March, which we never said before,” Thompson said. “I don’t remember it happening, but now it happens.

” According to Aspen Journalism, the snowpack is now “well below normal” at some lower elevation sites in the region. Some stretches of the ditch are not great candidates for burning, with too many available fuels outside the ditch. These areas are usually candidates for manual removal, a more labor and cost-intensive practice than burning.

Higher temperatures also play into the fire conditions, Thompson said. Billy and Peter Grange finished ditch burns on their multigeneration family cattle ranch in Southside Basalt a few weeks ago. Once the snow melts, the two ready their propane tanks and torches to go along the ditch and light what they can.

It’s a delicate balance between ideal burn conditions and ideal wildfire conditions. Too dry and too close to the shrubs that cover the mountain south of the ditch, a spark could spread. Too wet, it’ll smoke and the dead foliage that could choke the ditch later in the year won’t get burned.

“You’ve got to walk down the ditch with your pitchfork and you find plugs,” Peter said. “It’s almost like a beaver built it. It’s a lot easier if we burn it; it’s a lot easier on your back.

” If a section of a ditch isn’t conducive to burning, then producers will clear it with mini excavators or by sheer manual labor — a more expensive and costly endeavor. There’s a section of the Grace Shehi Ditch that juts up against the mountains with no natural barrier between sage and oakbrush and the ditch. The Granges said that one year they tackled the section with five men and a 100-gallon water tank, taking it 10 feet at a time to ensure the fire was totally out before moving on.

They’ll drench the land around the ditch occasionally to minimize risk, but not always. The ranch has been in their family for generations. Peter said that while ditch burning is pretty routine, sometimes it comes early.

“There was one year...

we were burning ditches the third week of March, and I was like, ‘Wow,’” he said. “You want to get it between when the snow is gone and the grass really starts coming up.” Before the age of propane and torches, Billy said ditch-burning protocol was with your hands full of dried grass.

“You’d take some dry grass and hook it into the fire, and then you go along the ditch until you burn your fingers,” he said. “Boy, it burns, and you go real fast. Then when it got close to your hands, you quit to get another handful.

” Burning is not allowed from May 31 through Oct. 1 in Roaring Fork Fire’s jurisdiction. They issue permits for residential and agricultural burns outside of that high-risk summer timeframe, requiring permit holders to sign an affidavit that they will carry shovels and water.

Winds must be below 5 miles per hour and smoke statistics get reported to the state. Thompson estimated that 80% of their permits are for agricultural use, and they’ve approved about 60 so far this year. They get a permit for a certain time period, then inform the fire department on the days they intend to burn.

Agricultural producers’ right to burn is protected by law in Colorado, and they don’t need a permit to burn. But doing so helps maintain trust and open communication with the fire departments. “A lot of these farmers and ranchers have been burning since they were teenagers, so they know what’s right and wrong,” Thompson said.

“(Billy Grange) is in compliance because he wants to be. He wants to help. He wants to help us not send fire trucks every time somebody going down Highway 82 sees smoke.

” Grange agreed, saying it’s in their best interest to keep the fire department informed of their burning activities. “They want you to burn in the morning. And that’s what we do,” he said.

“By noon we’re usually done. Thompson said while he’s seeing red flag warnings and fire risk spread into winter, the community is also wary of smoke. With the permits, the fire department can avoid responding to a call about smoke if they know someone is burning a ditch — and that they’re trustworthy.

Walking along their ditch, green sprouts fought their way through the charred ground outside the ditch. “A lot of good work is getting done right now with burning some piles, burning ditches, getting rid of some fuels, and things like that,” Peter said. “Now’s the perfect time, and it’s greened up around it, so it’s a lot safer.

” Still, fire happens on Red Flag Warning days. “Tires will blow off of cars,” Thompson said. “Metal objects will fall off of vehicles.

People drag their chains.” Thompson tells people “no open flames” under a Red Flag — campfires, burn piles and the like. It’s not necessarily illegal to burn, but if someone’s actions cause a fire they could be held criminally and/or civilly liable.

On April 12, a fire on Columbine Court in Basalt under a Red Flag Warning charred a fence. The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office said that incident is still under an active investigation. Thompson said while they know the fire was human caused, he did not believe it was intentionally set.

On red flag warning days or otherwise, Thompson said the public can always call their fire department for advice on whether to burn — even something as small as a firepit for marshmallows in the backyard. “Till 8 o’clock at night, that’s not a good idea. That’s a really bad idea,” he said.

“Ask the fire departments. We want to help. We want to make sure that they’re safe and that they don’t burn anything.

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