As a result of numerous recent fires and extremely dry conditions, Montezuma County Sheriff Joey Chavez is asking that Montezuma County residents refrain from doing any controlled burns, including burning ditches and trash.

"There is not a fire ban in place at the moment, but the conditions are such that any type of controlled burn could get out of control really easily, as we’ve seen in the past few days," said MCSO Detective Lt. Kalvin Boggs.

Although lightning strikes have been responsible for some of the recent fires, the majority have not been simple acts of nature.

"Better than three-quarters of the fires we’ve responded to have been controlled burns that have just gotten out of control," Boggs said. "It’s just popcorn-dry."

In the event that a controlled burn does get out of control and crosses over onto someone else’s property, citations will be issued, Boggs cautioned.

The county commissioners and the sheriff are expected to meet Monday to discuss imposing a county-wide fire ban.

On Wednesday morning fire officials said the Menefee Fire, which burned 40 acres in a BLM Wilderness Study Area 4 miles south of Mancos, had been declared controlled. The lightning-sparked blaze began Friday and did not really become manageable until "the weather started cooperating" Sunday, said Tim Oliverius, incident command officer for the burn.

Two hot-shot crews were to remain in the area mopping up, he said, and the Mesa Verde helitack crew will be flying over the area to check for possible hot spots.

Officials are seeking a fire-severity classification for the county, which would allow two hot-shot crews to be "parked" in the area indefinitely to be on hand for any possible new wildfires, Oliverius said.