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The Fremont County Commissioners took comment Tuesday during a public hearing on proposed changes to the county’s ordinance that restricts open fires and open burning in unincorporated areas of the county.    Sheriff Jim Beicker told the board that the changes are intended to more closely parallel the language of fire bans employed by federal and state agencies.   Bureau of Land Management Officials in attendance said the ordinance language more closely resembles the three stages of fire restrictions that federal officials use.

DENVER — Thursday, June 14, 2012 — Gov. John Hickenlooper today signed an Executive Order that bans open burning and private use of fireworks throughout Colorado because of very dry conditions and high fire danger.

The ban does not apply to campfires in constructed, permanent fire pits or fire grates within developed camp and picnic grounds or recreation sites; liquid-fueled or gas-fueled stoves; fireplaces contained within buildings; charcoal grills at private residences; or specific prescribed or controlled burns for agricultural or irrigation purposes.

A request by Black Hills Energy to expand utility easements in eastern Fremont County to permit an upgrade of four miles of power transmission lines will be considered by the Fremont County Planning Commission at their June 5th monthly meeting.    Black Hills Energy wants to upgrade the transmission line from the Fremont County line headed west towards the Portland substation.   The transmission line would require expansion of an existing utility easement to 100 feet and construction of two miles of new transmission line in a newly purchased 100 foot easement. 

As part of a federally mandated process that has been underway for the past year, the Fremont County Board of Commissioners adopted a set of updated flood plain maps for the county at their May 22nd regular meeting.   Adoption of the amended flood plain maps followed a public hearing, but no citizens appeared to address the Board.    District 3 Commissioner Ed Norden said adoption of the flood plains maps are not imposing any new federal regulations but that the maps must be approved by the county if citizens who reside in designated flood plain zones want to qualif

Investigators with the Fremont County Combined Investigations Response Team (C.I.R.T.) have recovered thousands of dollars worth of stolen property.  It is believed that the property was stolen from storage units in Fremont and Custer counties over the past 18 months. Investigators suspect that many of the recovered items have not yet been reported stolen, so anyone who rented a storage unit in Fremont or Custer County, should inspect their unit(s) to make sure they are secure and that the padlocks have not been switched.

The Fremont County Commissioners handled a short agenda of business for Tuesday’s regular meeting.