Colorado Parks and Wildlife has temporarily closed the shooting range at Basalt State Wildlife Area in Eagle County, effective Friday, due to extreme fire danger in the Roaring Fork Valley.

Eagle County and the White River National Forest implemented Stage 2 fire restrictions beginning June 26 at 12:01 a.m. Colorado Parks and Wildlife coordinated the range closure with the White River National Forest, Roaring Fork Fire Rescue, and Eagle and Pitkin counties.

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"Over the past few years, including as recently as June 10, our staff has implemented mitigation efforts to lower the risk of wildfire at the shooting range," said Area Wildlife Manager Matt Yamashita. "This includes improving safety berms as well as mitigating vegetation that could potentially fuel wildfires near the wildlife area. After collaborating with our local and federal partners, and taking into account the extreme fire danger in the Roaring Fork Valley, we feel temporarily closing the range is the right decision at this time."

The closure applies only to the shooting range and will remain in place until further notice. Basalt State Wildlife Area remains open to the public. Colorado Parks and Wildlife reminds the public that recreational shooting outside of the designated range is prohibited.

For information on the Basalt State Wildlife Area shooting range or to find shooting ranges throughout the state, visit cpw.state.co.us/shooting-ranges.