The Columbine Ranger District is planning to burn 4,150 acres in the HD mountains of the San Juan National Forest.
From the town of Bayfield, the project areas are approximately 6 miles (Yellow Jacket units) east and 12 miles southeast (Little Bull and Piedra units). Operations may begin as soon as February and may continue into May, depending on weather conditions and availability of fire personnel and other resources.
Ignitions will take place over several consecutive days and operations may take several weeks to complete.
Burning operations will be conducted by district personnel and other fire resources from the Forest Service and partner agencies, using both ground and aerial ignition.
These burn units are part of the larger Fossett Gulch and Southern HDs Integrated Vegetation Management projects aimed at reducing hazardous ground fuels and long-term risk of catastrophic wildfire, as well as restoring ponderosa pine ecosystems and improving wildlife habitat.
Daytime smoke is expected to travel to the north/northeast. Nighttime smoke is expected to travel downslope into the Piedra River drainage. Smoke will be heavier in the mornings following burning operations, although it will clear by mid-day.
Smoke will be visible from Arboles, Bayfield, Pagosa Springs, as well as the U.S. 160 and Colo. 151 corridors near those towns.
The forests in Southwest Colorado are part of a fire-adapted ecosystem, which has historically experienced frequent, low-intensity fires on a large scale. Prescribed fire replicates that fire regime under controlled conditions. Prescribed fires will only be ignited when all weather, fuels and smoke requirements are met.
Learn how smoke from prescribed fire may affect your health by visiting the Colorado Department of Public Health website at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.
For more information, please contact District Assistant Fire Management Officer (fuels) Noah Daniels at noah.daniels@usda.gov.
For information on the San Juan National Forest, call (970) 247-4874 or visit the forest website.
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