Several wildfires in the county yesterday serve as a reminder to visitors and residents alike, that Natrona County and The City of Casper have instituted a fire ban.
The ban, passed by the county as Resolution No. 19-17, states that with Natrona County approaching drought conditions, fire danger is on the rise. The resolution bans open burning and other fire related activities on all private, county, and city land. City of Casper officials have confirmed that incorporated areas of Casper are also subject to the county fire ban.
The ban prohibits the following:
- The building, maintenance, attending or using any campfire or charcoal fire, except fires used in industrial or agricultural operations.
- The use of tracer ammunition
- Smoking, except within an enclosed vehicle or building, a developed recreation site, or while stopped in an area of at least 3-feet in diameter that is barren or cleared of flammable material.
- Discharging and detonation of fireworks, explosives requiring fuses or blasting caps.
- Acetylene cutting torches or electric arc welding, except in areas devoid of all vegetation for a ten-foot area.
- Propane or open fire branding activities except in corral areas of ranch complexes considered to be “improved” and cleared of all vegetation.
- Operation of chainsaws without a properly installed USDA or SAE approved spark arrestor and a 5 lb or larger dry chemical fire extinguisher or an adequate supply of water and a shovel. These fire tools may be kept with the owner’s gas supply, but must be available in the immediate vicinity of the chainsaw.
- Slash pile burning on Casper Mountain. Landowners with slash pile clean up on Casper Mountain, may take their slash to Tower Hill, which has been designated for receipt and disposal of slash.