Most of CO, including Alamosa and Costilla counties which split Blanca, are under a fire ban right now, and many people are reeeeeaaaaallllyy skittish about what's allowed now, with the horrific 16,000 acre Waldo Canyon fire eating up large portions of the city of Colorado Springs right now, and the 87,000 acre High Park fire just outside Ft Collins, those being only 2 of 8 active fires in the state. I've largely given up on etOH stoves for that reason.
Luckily, Blanca Massif is well away from fire so far. If a fire starts, you'll be able to see it from above when on the mountain, but yes they will close the trails to hikers going up. Going down will be encouraged to move quickly.
Rangers will have the definitive word, but you might be ok.
You don't need a helmet as long as you're careful. The approaches are all class 1 (pathed hiking) but most of the routes are class 2( rock-hopping, moderately steep) with pitches of class 3 (steep, 4-point contact scrambling)
You don't need a helmet as long as you're careful. There's some danger of falling rock, but it's low compared to other peaks. Even other peaks on the Massif. I wouldn't go anywhere near Little Bear without helmets and ropes.
Call the Alamosa Cty ranger, and get a book of CO 14ers.
Good luck on the peak bagging, 14'ers are a whole different beast than east coast hiking.
Edit: 14'ers.com is a good initial resource, but I strongly recommend an actual paper book of 14'ers for prep, and a USGS quadrangle map or two in hand on the trail.
