For the first time in nearly a year, burn permits are available for Mesa County residents as spring burn season began Monday. Stage 1 fire restrictions werenât lifted in Mesa County until the end of October last year as health and resource concerns shut both the fall and spring burn seasons down in 2020. âDuring the spring, fire crews were tied up with COVID-19 response, and so resources were a real concern,â said Amanda Mayle, Mesa County Public Health spokesperson. Mesa County Public Health is the agency that issues burn permits for the county. âOn top of that, COVID is a respiratory disease so there were legitimate concerns the wildfire smoke could exacerbate symptoms.â