Starting Monday, the Summit County Fire Danger Level will be dropped to “low” or “recreate safely” according to Summit County Fire Warden Bryce Boyer.This means that residents may see smoke from resident yard cleanup or prescribed burns as soon as this weekend.This decision comes following a few days of rain, snow, and colder temps forecasted over the weekend, dropping the fire risks drastically and allowing residents to burn their yard waste piles. It’s also an opportunity for forest management teams to continue their usual fall activities — burning piles as an essential step in fuels reduction to protect from wildfires.The process is the same as previous years, Boyer said, where people planning to burn in incorporated areas will need to apply for an open burn permit, a window which will be open until Oct. 30.Burn windows in Summit County usually run from Sept. 15 through Oct. 30, but was closed due to dry, hot conditions and sometimes heavy smoke from the Yellow Lake Fire, Boyer said. On Oct. 4, the Summit County Fire Danger Level was raised to “very high.”But now that winter seems to have arrived, risks are low. “(Burn plans in) incorporated areas will still need to make sure that they’re meeting air quality rules of the clearing index of 500 or higher, and on the fire side of it, winds under 10 miles an hour, and notify the Summit County sheriff’s dispatch prior to burning and when it’s out,” said Boyer.A clearing index is a measurement which indicates whether smoke will be carried up and out of the communities quickly.After Oct. 30, burn projects in incorporated areas of Summit County —Park City, Oakley, Francis, Kamas, Coalville, Henefer, Echo — will stop for the season.In unincorporated areas, permits will be required through Oct. 30, and starting Nov. 1, people will be able to burn without a permit as long as they are following the air quality and weather requirements.“For the next couple weeks in October, you’re going to start to see more of this picking up,” said Dave Telian, co-founder of Alpine Forestry.It’s safe and it’s controlled, he explained, which is why the permit system is set up.“The role that the wardens play in the counties is vetting the requests that come in this time of year, and then starting Nov. 1, they are a lot more hands off because we’re out of state declared fire season,” Telian said.Telian said their crews plan to wait for another storm before getting work done on their projects around the county. Some of the work they hope to get done is in Bear Hollow, Pinebrook, Summit Park and some parts of Treasure Hill in Old Town.“I think people are going to be really sensitive to it because that’s going to feel so fresh,” said Telian, referring to the Yellow Lake Fire, which has been burning in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest since Sept. 28. “That was an oddity, and I think it’s good to point that out — that’s a result of such dry conditions we had. But then we get enough moisture, you just don’t see that stuff happening.”Updates will be posted on the Summit County website, summitcountyutah.gov/561/Fire-Warden, and the link to apply for an open burn permit can also be found there.The post Open burn season back, deemed safe following wet weather appeared first on Park Record.