Summer camps in limbo amid COVID-19
The American Camping Association says over 20 million children attend summer camp in the United States. However, this summer is different because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A group of campers were called out by Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers after they left a campfire unattended near Eleven Mile State Park.
The CPW’s North East Region Twitter account shared a photo of the unsupervised blaze, which was situated near what appears to be a fallen tree and a dozen scattered beer cans.
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“Over the weekend, wildlife officers in @ParkCounty & park rangers from Eleven Mile State Park were able to extinguish this unattended campfire,” the CPW NE Region account wrote on Monday, March 8. “It escaped the fire pit & lit a nearby stump and grass on fire. Occupants of the camp were cited for failing to extinguish a campfire.”
Officers and rangers discovered the dispersed camp site at the Pike and San Isabel National Forests Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands.
The exact distance the camp site was from Eleven Mile State Park was not revealed.
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“A citation for failing to extinguish a campfire imposes a court summons where the judge can issue a fine of $50 to $750 and/or six months imprisonment,” the CPW NE Region warned in a follow-up tweet. “Luckily there was snow on the ground to keep the fire from spreading further. Just because it is still winter does not mean you don’t need to be diligent and extra cautious!”
Twitter users expressed their concern over the unattended fire and litter under the CPW NE Region’s thread.
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“Hate to sound like my grandpa, but the blatant disregard for the most basic rules is disconcerting,” one person tweeted Tuesday.
The group who left the fire unattended was made up of three campers, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Public Information Officer Jason Clay.
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Only one camper out of the three was charged a citation, Clay told Fox News. The charged suspect currently has a court date set for May 11 in Park County, Colo.
