CAÑON CITY, Colo. - The Bureau of Land Management’s Royal Gorge Field Office will begin hazardous fuels reduction projects throughout Fremont County. The projects include burning piles of brush and timber that the BLM has removed from public lands to reduce the risk of wildfire. These pile burns will occur mid-January through mid-March when weather and fuels conditions allow.
“These projects are not large prescribed burns, but are the result of thinning overgrown forests on public lands," said Keith Berger, Royal Gorge Field Manager. “By minimizing the amount of hazardous fuels on public lands, we not only improve forest health, but also lessen the risk of intense, large scale fires and in turn reduce risks to firefighters and the public."
The RGFO plans to burn fuel piles near High Park, Turkey Gulch, Twin Mountain, Stoney Face, Poverty Mountain, McCoy Gulch and Deer Mountain. Depending on location, the piles vary in size and consist of ponderosa pine, pinyon, juniper, oak brush, Douglas fir or lodge pole pine debris. Fire managers will remain on scene throughout the burning process to monitor the weather and fuels conditions.
Before conducting pile burning, the BLM develops a detailed plan outlining the goals of the project, optimum weather conditions, key contacts, and any necessary firefighting resources. The BLM must also obtain smoke permits from the State of Colorado.
Land managers conduct annual hazardous fuels reduction projects in the spring and fall throughout Colorado including thinning vegetation, fuel-pile burning, and prescribed fire. Such projects help reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires entering private property from public lands.
For more information about these scheduled projects, please contact Tyler Webb, BLM Fire Management Specialist, (719)-269-8560.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management
