August 2021 Care for Colorado Monthly Messaging: Wildfire Education

“Over the last ten years, 54 percent of wildfires have been caused by humans, while the rest,  46 percent, have been ignited by lightning.” U.S. Forest Service 

We, in Colorado, certainly understand the devastation that wildfires can create. The current hot, dry, windy weather is causing concern about critical fire conditions across the state. Ancillary effects of past fire damage, such as mudslides and floods, are also impacting portions of Colorado.

Care for Colorado Stewardship Partners have joined together to provide a variety of resources about Wildfire Education for you to share, which you can find below. Thank you for helping us get this important information out to visitors and residents. 

Jill Corbin, Interim Director, Colorado Tourism Office    
Dana Watts, Executive Director, Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics

Wildfire safety resources

Please feel free to share these assets on your own channels — just be sure to credit the partner organization and link back to their site.

Social media posts

Share any of the posts below to encourage visitors to Care for Colorado on all their adventures. Don’t forget to tag @VisitColorado and @LeaveNoTraceCenter on all your posts.

  • Before you head out on your adventure, check local fire restrictions to make sure campfires are allowed. #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace
  • Build a minimum-impact fire. Consider whether the conditions are safe to have a fire at your picnic or campsite. #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace
  • Use existing fire rings or fire pans to build a campfire. #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace
  • Cook it on a camp stove! Camp stoves are fast. No need to gather wood, tend to a fire or douse it in water before going to bed. #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace
  • Remember the four Ds of firewood collection and use only dead, downed, dinky and distant wood to build a campfire. If you purchase wood, do so locally to prevent the spread of invasive species. #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace
  • Keep your campfire small. #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace
  • Never leave any campfire unattended. #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace
  • Burn all wood in a campfire completely to ash. Saturate campfire ash with water. Make sure your campfire is fully extinguished and cool to the touch before leaving the area or going to bed. #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace
  • Be careful of parking your car or ATV in tall, dry vegetation, such as grass. The hot underside of the vehicle can start a fire. #USDAForestService #CareForColorado #LeaveNoTrace

Care for Colorado Online Training Resources

Care for Colorado Stewardship Partner, the Colorado Wine Industry Development Board, has produced a new Pest Mitigation and Invasive Species Rack Card and Informational Poster to share. If you would like copies of the rack card, please contact Doug Caskey at doug.caskey@state.co.us.

We invite you and your employees to take the free Colorado Concierge online training at any time to become even greater trusted sources of information for visitors and residents. There are six modules in total, the newest being the Inclusive Colorado Culture, plus 6 others you can take to learn about Care for Colorado, Colorado Essentials, Colorado-Stye Customer Service, Traveler Safety, Colorado Travel Regions and Hunting and Fishing.