The San Juan National Forest is planning to burn slash piles this fall and winter.
Forest Service officials estimate this work may continue through early spring, as conditions allow.
Certified prescribed fire specialists use pile burns to help improve forest health and wildlife habitat, and reduce the risk of wildfire near private residences and other infrastructure.
Slash piles are generated from forest thinning and timber sales and are piled and burned to remove the debris that would fuel wildfire.
Planned pile burns
Pile burns planned for the San Juan National Forest include the following.
Columbine Ranger District
• Animas Overlook: National Forest System Road (NFSR) 171 Junction Creek Road, 160 piles, 7.5 acres.
• Junction Creek Road; NFSR 171 Junction Creek Road, 32 piles, 15 acres.
• Falls Creek; La Plata County Road 205, 120 piles, 10 acres.
• High Meadows: La Plata County Road 205, 30 piles, 26 acres.
• North Fosset Gulch: NFSR 613 Fosset Gulch Road, 100 piles, 32 acres.
• South Fosset Gulch: NFSR 613 Fosset Gulch Road, 15 piles, one acre.
• East Animas: La Plata County Road 250, 60 piles, eight acres.
• Ellington Lane: NFSR 603, 40 piles, eight acres.
• First Notch Road: Near NFSR 620 First Notch Road, nine piles, 50 acres.
Pagosa Ranger District
Smoke will be visible from the U.S. 160 and U.S. 84 corridors while piles consume.
• Kenny Flat: Boone Creek Timber Sale, NFSR 006 and 006C, five piles, 38 acres.
• Coyote Hill: County Rd 600 (Piedra Road) and NFS Trail 314 (Coyote Hill), 20 piles, 1.25 acres.
• Eight Mile Mesa, NFSR 651 andNFSR 651B, 25 piles: 10 acres.
• Fawn Gulch: NFSR 666 Fawn Gulch Road, 13 acres, 30 piles.
• Jackson Mountain: Griffin Timber Sale, NFSR 37 and 738, 80 piles, 380 acres.
• Brockover: Gobbler Timber Sale, NFSR 919 (Brockover), NFS Trail 303 (Gopher) and Trail 321 (Brockover ATV Trail), 200 piles, 271 acres.
• Mariposa: Mariposa Timber Sale near NFSR 024, 25 piles, 75 acres.
• Sand Bench, North Fork Timber Sale, NFSR 642, 8 piles, 104 acres.
• Snow Angel, NFSR 629, 15 piles, four acres.
• Trail Ridge: Trail Ridge Timber Sale, NFSR 639, 10 piles, 13 acres.
• Turkey Springs: NFSR 629 and NFSR 629B, 20 piles, nine acres.
• West Fork, NFSR 648, 15 piles, four acres.
Dolores Ranger District
• Garb: NFSR 504 and spur roads near Little Mair Draw, 46 piles, 541 acres.
• Double Decker: NFSRs 504, 512 and 514 near Glade Guard Station, 826 piles, 630 acres.
• Orange Peel: NFSRs 526 and 527 near Beaver Rim Gravel Pit, 30 piles, 268 acres.
• Plateau: NFSRs 523 and 247 near Trimble Point, 38 piles, 305 acres.
• Horsetooth: NFSRs 508, 520 and 521.A near Wolf Den and Ferris Reservoir, 17 piles, 195 acres.
• 504 Piles: NFSRs 504 and 216 in Glade area, 25 piles, 15 acres.
Closures or safety notes
No closures are associated with this planned prescribed fire activity. However, visitors should remain alert in the area as firefighters work.
Smoke information
While smoke may be visible, the Forest Service works closely with air quality specialists and closely monitors smoke during prescribed fires. Prescribed fires are timed for best smoke management.
Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information, visit https://cdphe.colorado.gov/apcd/wood-smoke-and-your-health.
Visit https://fire.airnow.gov/ for current air quality information.
If smoke is present on roadways, drivers should slow down and turn on headlights. Please do not report these fires, as firefighters will remain on scene throughout ignitions and patrol afterwards.
Additional notifications
The Forest Service will evaluate conditions in the days and hours before ignition. Notifications for pile burning will be posted on Facebook and InciWeb. If conditions are not favorable, planned prescribed fire activities may be postponed or canceled.
Editor’s note: This article was submitted to The SUN prior to this fall’s flooding and may be subject to change.
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