ASPEN – A burn ban throughout Pitkin County, in place since April 5, will be lifted at 6 p.m. Friday.

Sheriff Joe DiSalvo is lifting the ban after consulting with area fire chiefs. Moisture levels in the Roaring Fork Valley are back to normal for this time of year, according to the Sheriff’s Office, eliminating the need for the ban.

An extraordinarily dry spring and month of June escalated wildfire danger in the county, but July and August have been wet months.

DiSalvo commended the public, as well as firefighters and law enforcement officials, for keeping the county safe during what the Sheriff’s Office termed one of the driest seasons on record in Colorado.

“We couldn’t have done this without the entire community behind us,” the sheriff said in a prepared statement.

Although wildfire danger has subsided, county residents are still encouraged to sign up for emergency notifications through http://www.pitkinemergency.org. Text, email, pager and voice alerts are sent out via the system.