Regardless of whether there is an official fire ban in Morgan County, this is not the best time to start any fires for any reason -- even for business like agriculture.

It does not take long for Colorado weather to dry out vegetation. Only a few weeks ago, it seemed like the area was drenched in moisture, but winds and high heat have changed that quickly. Crops are suffering, pastures are withering and the area is ripe for a wildfire.

Those dry conditions are why the state is seeing some big fires right now in Black Forest and near the Royal Gorge.

Inevitably, some homeowner blames the government for his home burning down, but it is not always justified. One Black Forest resident was saying not enough was done to prevent this kind of wildfire.

However, one of our reporters once covered the Black Forest area in the mid-2000s. During that time, there was a big push to get homeowners in the area to clean out brush and vegetation from around their houses, and to cut down trees that were too close to their homes. Officials also pleaded with people to cut down beetle-killed trees that are perfect for feeding fires.

Not many people paid attention, and now they are paying the price. And even if one homeowner did fire proof his property, his neighbor did not.

Of course it is easy to tell people what to do, but getting it done is harder.

For one thing, people who live in Black Forest want the trees around them. They do not want a suburban atmosphere.


The terrain in Black Forest is more like a mountain forest.

On top of that, it can be a hard job to fire proof a home in a pine forest -- or an expensive one. Cutting down trees is not for amateurs, and cleaning out brush and weeds continuously is a backbreaking job. Staying ahead of growing plants can be nearly impossible if a person also has a job.

We can help save ourselves a similar fate by just not setting any fires for the foreseeable future.

It might be tempting to burn that trash or clear out a section of land, but don't do it.

Of course, there is always lightning ...
