The 2024/25 prescribed fire (pile burning) season continues. Fire personnel will carry out prescribed fires as weather, fuel, and the availability of fire resources permit. The forests in Southwest Colorado are part of a fire-adapted ecosystem, which historically experienced frequent, low intensity fires on a large scale. Prescribed fire replicates that fire regime and increases the area on our landscape that has been burned at low and moderate conditions. Reintroduction of prescribed fire is necessary to improve and restore vegetative conditions. This effort will reduce hazardous ground fuels, lessen the risk of unplanned large-scale wildfire, help restore ponderosa pine ecosystems, and improve wildlife habitat. Prescribed fire also reduces the ladder fuels that can carry fire into the canopy, killing mature trees. 2025 SPRING BROADCAST BURNING PLANS Columbine Ranger District: * Little Bull Prescribed Fire, no date set. (News release [https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-publication/cosjf-2025-san-juan-national-forest-prescribed-fire-program/prescribed-burns-planned-in-the-hd-mountains-this-spring-02-14-2025]) (Map [https://inciweb-prod-media-bucket.s3.us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2025-02/20250214_ColumbineRxMap_1.jpg?VersionId=zG.Wavw_gliiwAcCGucjG0hq_wPYjf53]) * 12 miles southeast of Bayfield, CO * Yellow Jacket Prescribed Fire, no date set. * six miles east of Bayfield, CO. 2024/25 WINTER PILE BURNING PLANS The Dolores Ranger District plans to burn slash piles near the following locations: (Smoke may be visible from State Highway 184, State Highway 145, and U.S. Route 491) * Haycamp Mesa area (250 acres, 800 piles) near FSRs 556, 556.G and 492, south of Beef Pasture Reservoir COMPLETED * Boggy Draw area (14 acres, 4 piles) near FSR 526.B * Beaver Rim Gravel Pit * Taylor Mesa area (390 acres, 134 piles) near FSRs 545 and 545.J COMPLETED * Salter area (400 acres, 400 piles) near FSRs 514, 504, 519 and 293, northwest of Salter Y * Lake Canyon and Glade areas (3100 acres, 1400 piles) near FSRs 506, 504, 508, 512, 514, 215 , 270, 216 and 218 near Glade Canyon. Pagosa Ranger District plans to burn slash piles near the following locations: * Kenney Flats, 30 acres COMPLETED * Quartz Piles, 20 acres COMPLETED Columbine Ranger District: * Saul’s Creek (50 acres, 100 piles) near FS road 755 COMPLETED * Fossett Gulch (17 acres, 100 piles) near FS road 841 COMPLETED * Baldy Mountain (117 acres, 10 piles) near FS roads 69 and 601 COMPLETED _____________ 2024 BROADCAST PRESCRIBED FIRE ACCOMPLISHMENTS: DOLORES RANGER DISTRICT: * Boggy Draw: 1,156 acres * Salter Y Units 34 and 37: 1,279 acres COLUMBINE RANGER DISTRICT: * Vallecito-Piedra: 235 acres * Saul's Creek: 1,615 acres * Southern HDs: 1,080 acres PAGOSA RANGER DISTRICT: * Fawn Gulch 1,100 acres * Mill Creek: 400 acres 2023/24 WINTER PILE BURNING ACCOMPLISHMENTS: DOLORES RANGER DISTRICT: * Haycamp Mesa area (427 acres, 750 piles) near FSRs 556 and 492, south of Beef Pasture Reservoir * Taylor Mesa area (145 acres, 44 piles) near FSRs 545 and 692 * Salter area (321 acres, 267 piles) near FSRs 514, 504, 519 and 293, northwest of Salter Y * Lake Canyon area (518 acres, 336 piles) near FSRs 506, 504, 508, 514, 215, and 216 near Cow Canyon COLUMBINE RANGER DISTRICT: * Sauls Creek (110 acres, 1800 piles) near FS roads 755, 755.A, 131, and 131.C * Junction Creek (90 acres, 75 piles) near FS road 171, in the Log Chutes trail area * Fossett Gulch (40 acres, 100 piles) near FS roads 613 and 841 * Baldy Mountain (623 acres, 60 slash piles) off of Beaver Meadows Road PAGOSA RANGER DISTRICT: * Lower portion of Turkey springs Road (FSR 629) near the powerlines * Turkey Springs Road near the Turkey Springs Guard Station * Brockover Road (FSR 919), Buckles Lake Road (FSR 633) * Huerto Creek timber sale between Piedra Road (FSR 621) and Poison Park Road (FSR 644)
With spring approaching, firefighters will be closely monitoring conditions for potential burn windows. Please continue to check this page for the latest information. The burn is located east and southeast of Red Feather Lakes. Firefighters successfully burned 775 acres in 2023, with over 2,300 acres burned in total. Appropriate, localized conditions must be met before ignitions can take place. Fire managers are carefully monitoring these conditions, including favorable weather forecast (temperature, wind, precipitation, relative humidity), fuel moisture, smoke dispersal and staffing. Weather is monitored throughout the burn and burning is halted if conditions fall outside of the required conditions. People in the surrounding area should expect to see smoke west of Livermore and Glacier View when operations are taking place. Smoke may also impact those using the Dowdy Lake and West Lake recreation areas. Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information about the potential health impacts of smoke, visit Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment [https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health]. Prescribed fire is one of the most efficient ways of reducing wildfire risk. Regularly conducting prescribed fires, which mimic nature, reduces the buildup of flammable vegetation and overgrowth. Even with the most thorough planning and preparation, the use of prescribed fire carries an innate level of risk that cannot be eliminated entirely. To receive updates, follow us on Facebook [https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fr20.rs6.net%2Ftn.jsp%3Ff%3D001_4jQevMBOHm3ij4X-dPiBcWzTzhBlKNG7Ak20ATiL5hV8dbH0ztFvQihs44UwsWlSe5bGkI176N1h-l5TyqtuEYfaE-_LANcpc9obrtT3nKEAqFO18PTR_dqaAf8xPtNcyHOtfrqyMKc1KJyLkHLe0bNKsbpmaxc%26c%3Dtu6-bHUBD7B_o7CiWT7VjbjY3EQ2RGUdJBnV-2-5PJc7kz6ezD4ikQ%3D%3D%26ch%3DKkBmbkI9Pj8Pw596zy9vJ8hEwx5R_V70FL4MGPZT38jjcVXICPoHrQ%3D%3D&data=05%7C01%7C%7C8d7f5e8910d04f77a0d108db467312f9%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C638181304112273720%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=P1Ou3zBgeWBfIK4j%2BLeuEVKv5zx3UIfq4QcPlVYZJFY%3D&reserved=0] and X [https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fr20.rs6.net%2Ftn.jsp%3Ff%3D001_4jQevMBOHm3ij4X-dPiBcWzTzhBlKNG7Ak20ATiL5hV8dbH0ztFvQihs44UwsWlvNfg4L24yNGmpu9fPnYBAJtkHFFkIvXBbTSaxVAht5IWVcU3hkHisQptxY3jQ5vxqilRu7y7KVtWlVz_jX-eqQ%3D%3D%26c%3Dtu6-bHUBD7B_o7CiWT7VjbjY3EQ2RGUdJBnV-2-5PJc7kz6ezD4ikQ%3D%3D%26ch%3DKkBmbkI9Pj8Pw596zy9vJ8hEwx5R_V70FL4MGPZT38jjcVXICPoHrQ%3D%3D&data=05%7C01%7C%7C8d7f5e8910d04f77a0d108db467312f9%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C638181304112273720%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xYh6uQsYifWyNPeUQOlhzbPuxGpy9a2r5%2FcjrVk80B0%3D&reserved=0] and join our email list through Constant Contact [https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001IYrlh1STq1nQ4D8XRO5B4Tvbd__skb5DEaSNzAHXRTWsJ95wGZldZ7zrkXvzVXksf3R6x_FiGGtTmBpzdxMnTnede0kaBf28EWf6JhMvjtJ1G2BxcsTGuuXwUui3wHLgc8u79l49Wyo2SYfQARrvjWhWttAZTbd2] and select list "Forest Health & Fire: North of Hwy 14 to Wyoming Border (Red Feather Lakes)."
Firefighters are closely monitoring conditions for potential burn windows for this project. Please continue to check this page for the latest information. ________________________ General Information about the Project: The Forsythe II Project is part of the Forest Service’s on-going effort to improve forest health conditions on the Boulder Ranger District. The project area is located near Gross Reservoir and Winiger Ridge in Boulder County, Colo. The entire project area encompasses 18,954 acres; 9,940 of those acres are National Forest System lands, 1,892 acres are Boulder County Parks and Open Space lands, and 7,122 acres are private lands. Elevation ranges from 6,082 to 8,945 feet. The project is generally located east of Nederland, CO and west of Gross Reservoir. The broadcast burn units from the Forsythe II Decision are located 7 miles southwest of Boulder and 5.5 miles east of Nederland, totalling 931 acres. Forest thinning and pile burning treatments for areas near the planned prescribed burn area are mostly complete. The area has two main burn units that are subdivided into multiple sub-units that vary in size from 18 acres to 130 acres and provides a variety of options for control using existing roads, water, natural features and control lines. Current project plans allow for treatment of up to 340 acres per year. These prescribed burning treatments will be implemented over several years, with the amount treated per year dependent on weather, ground conditions, fuel receptiveness, and available resources. All burning will be implemented in close coordination and with assistance from local cooperating agencies and partners, state and county public health agencies, and multiple local agency fire cooperators. Smoke will be in the air, and fire managers work closely with experts to minimize the impacts to the extent possible. Air quality is carefully monitored before and during a prescribed fire and all prescribed burns comply with state air quality regulations to minimize impacts to communities. To learn more about the potential health impacts of smoke visit www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health [https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.colorado.gov%2Fpacific%2Fcdphe%2Fwood-smoke-and-health&data=05%7C01%7C%7C8b18517df1f44aaec36f08db314bfac3%7Ced5b36e701ee4ebc867ee03cfa0d4697%7C0%7C0%7C638157974616252064%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=xazvkJjr3gmpTxXj%2FveiaJGxnj%2FnMmUlBLT378zSLO0%3D&reserved=0]. To receive updates, join our email list [https://visitor.r20.constantcontact.com/manage/optin?v=001IYrlh1STq1nQ4D8XRO5B4Tvbd__skb5DEaSNzAHXRTWsJ95wGZldZ7zrkXvzVXksf3R6x_FiGGtTmBpzdxMnTnede0kaBf28EWf6JhMvjtJ1G2BxcsTGuuXwUui3wHLgc8u79l49Wyo2SYfQARrvjWhWttAZTbd2] and select list "Forest Health & Fire: North of Hwy 72 (Coal Creek Canyon) to Hwy 119 Boulder Canyon (Nederland and Magnolia areas)". Have questions? Email ARPFireInfo@usda.gov. Forsythe II Public Map 2025.jpg Forsythe II Public Map 2025.jpg [ https://inciweb-prod-media-bucket.s3.us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2025-04/Forsythe%20II%20Public%20Map%202025.jpg?VersionId=WwHiVH104Q78ivHm0miWgn5_z7sG26Ht ] Fri, 04/04/2025 - 14:06 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Forsythe II Public Map 2025.jpg [ https://inciweb-prod-media-bucket.s3.us-gov-west-1.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/2025-04/Forsythe%20II%20Public%20Map%202025.jpg?VersionId=WwHiVH104Q78ivHm0miWgn5_z7sG26Ht ] Forsythe II Public Map 2025.jpg
The Front Country Prescribed Fire is a 3000-acre prescribed fire project located in Rocky Mountain National Park. This project will reduce available fuels and the risk of future catastrophic fire by introducing low-to-moderate intensity fire on the landscape. By introducing fire and removing fuels when conditions are favorable, the area will serve as a fire break that can be used to defend the park and surrounding communities against future wildfires. The prescribed fire will also allow fire to play its natural role in the ecosystem by reducing ground fuels, invigorating native grasses, and decreasing stand densities in meadows and montane forests. The overall 3000-acre project is subdivided into several smaller units, one of which is the 334-acre Headquarters Unit, located near Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, south of Highway 36. Fire managers at Rocky Mountain National Park had planned to conduct a prescribed burn beginning on Monday, March 10, 2025. Due to conditions that were outside of prescription, that operation has been cancelled. Firefighters completed approximately 100 acres of the 334-acre Headquarters Unit in November 2024. Additional information on future ignitions will be shared on this page and on RMNP’s official social media channels [https://linktr.ee/RMNP_fire].
RECENT PILE BURN ACCOMPLISHMENT UPDATE: 3/17/2025 BLM fire crews and other land management agencies conducted pile burn operations at the Dawson project on Friday March 14th. Weather conditions were favorable as fire crews burn approximately 3,000 piles over 180 acres. Fire crews remained on scene for monitoring and patrol before returning back to station. Pile burning will continue when the next weather pattern develops for allowable burning conditions. Please check back for future updates. DAWSON PILE BURN UPDATE: 3/10/2025 Favorable weather conditions for burning piles are developing later this week. Fire crews are currently monitoring weather reports for a winter system to pass over the Dawson project area. If weather conditions do become favorable, fire crews will look to burn piles Thursday 3/13/2025 - Friday 3/14/2025. Please check back for updates. DAWSON PILE BURN UPDATE: 3/6/2025 Fire crews had excellent conditions for burning piles at the Dawson project. A snowstorm impacted the project area with snow accumulating between 1-3inches. With the snowfall and good ventilation for smoke dispersal, fire crews were able to accomplish burning over 1,000 piles. Fire crews will monitor and patrol the Dawson project area in the coming days. No further ignitions are planned until the next favorable weather conditions are in place. SOUTHWEST DISTRICT FIRE AND AVIATION The Bureau of Land Management Tres Rios Field Office is conducting prescribed fire pile burning near the Dawson Draw area, South of Dry Creek Basin, and East of U.S. HWY 491 Colorado. This pile burn is scheduled to take place during the winter and early spring of 2025 and will be conducted as weather conditions permit. Specific timing of the operation will depend on favorable weather conditions. Crews will be on site for the duration of the burn. Smoke will be visible throughout the day of the burn, mostly during the warmest part of the day. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may linger and accumulate in low-lying areas. Firefighters will be on site throughout the day of ignition and will periodically patrol the burns for several days afterward. The Dawson vegetation treatment project was created by researchers from USGS, CU Boulder, University of Reno Nevada, and UC Berkeley along with the Bureau of Land Management Tres Rios Field Office. This projects primary goal is to perform hazardous fuels reduction and evaluate the forest stand response. This treatment includes 530 acres of Pinyon-Juniper stands to be hand thinned and piled in units of 16-28 acres. Piles will be created from the remaining slash and will be burned when weather conditions allow. Project units have been organized to study tree and vegetation response to multiple thinning prescriptions: a uniform thinning prescription and a heterogenous thinning prescription. These project treatments will also evaluate the vegetative response across different elevations. The result of this project will be valuable information pertaining to standard fuel treatment methodologies, drought and other disturbances within the pinyon-juniper stands. Recent updates will be provided in the "news". Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information, please visit the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division’s website at https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health [https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health].
PRESCRIBED FIRE TO BE INITIATED AT WEST DOLORES RIM SPRING 2025 DOLORES, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Tres Rios field office plans to conduct prescribed fire treatments starting April 15th, 2025 – May 2025. Prescribed fire is an important tool for active vegetation management and the reduction of wildfire risk. The West Dolores Rim project area is seven miles east and northeast of Dove Creek. Firefighters will use a combination of hand and aerial ignitions to ignite 977 acres of pine needle cast and mountain brush leaf litter within ponderosa pine stands. “The West Rim project continues to be one of the BLM's greatest successes in reintroducing fire onto the landscape. BLM began implementing prescribed fire in the West Rim project area in 2008, and after 16 years and thousands of acres treated, the BLM continues to see fantastic benefits for the timber stand, wildlife, and public land users, including reduced risk to homes, infrastructure, and resources.” - James Savage, BLM Supervisory Fuels Specialist Prescribed fire mimics natural processes under appropriate weather and vegetative conditions, which improves forage for wildlife, increases plant diversity by creating breaks in the understory where native grasses and forbs can thrive, and effectively reduces hazardous vegetation while enhancing woodland health. This project reflects the BLM’s ongoing commitment to protect the public while enhancing wildlife habitat and reducing the risk of wildfire. The BLM obtained smoke permits from the Colorado State Air Pollution Control Division, which identify atmospheric conditions under which the burns can be implemented. While no road closures are expected during the projects, camping near the units is discouraged due to increased traffic and likelihood of smoke in the area, particularly at night. Multiple days of burning may occur as fuel conditions and weather permit. Project areas will be monitored once completed to ensure public safety. While smoke may be visible in the burn area at times, most of the smoke will lift and dissipate during the warmest parts of the day. Expect visible smoke in the area for several days after each burn is completed as vegetation in the interior continues to smolder. WEST DOLORES RIM PRESCRIBED BURN WILL INCLUDE 3 SEPARATE BURN UNITS. UNITS MAYBE BURN SIMULTANEOUSLY OR INDIVIDUALLY DEPENDING ON PREDICTED WEATHER CONDITIONS. * UNIT 1 316 ACRES * UNIT 18B 291 ACRES * UNIT 42B 370 ACRES Please continue to check back for all current updates with the West Rim prescribed burn. For more information, visit https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health [https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health].