Ah, summertime. This week for many marks the official start of high summer in the High Country.

The revelry of the Fourth of July in particular, however, requires a measure of caution be exercised with fire. In spite of ample snowpack and robust spring moisture, the countryside is drying out and the fire danger locally has been raised to moderate.

Please use common sense with fireworks and while camping. Follow basic rules such as never leaving a campfire unattended. And leave the pyrotechnics at home when visiting public lands.

Don’t drink and drive —and that includes piloting a boat — and play safely around water.

And by all means, enjoy the rush of the abbreviated Rocky Mountain summer in all its alpine glory.