Forest Service conducts controlled burns in southern Colorado
The warm fall weather is providing the Forest Service with more time to burn certain areas of the Pike National Forest to reduce the risk of wildfires.
This weekend, foresters are conducting what they call prescribed burns in two areas: west of Highway 67 near the Douglas-Teller county line; and in eastern Park County near Lake George.
Foresters will burn nearly 1,000 acres at both locations.
The burns are designed to rid the forests of dead grasses and other undergrowth beneath trees. Such material can fuel wildfires and make them more intense.
Oscar Martinez, a Forest Service ranger, said burns are managed very carefully and only during ideal weather conditions.
“We’re kind of in that 60 to 70 temperature range, 9 to 15 percent humidity, and we’ve got wind conditions that aren’t steady, they’re below 25 miles an hour,” he said.
A clear sky is also desired by foresters so that smoke can rise and not stay near the ground where it can reduce visibility for drivers and cause breathing problems for people.
Martinez said to further ensure that a prescribed burn remains under control, foresters will first perform a test burn.
“If that test burn doesn’t show us that everything’s lined up in terms of what we expect to see and the behavior we expect, then we won’t do it,” he said. “Today, everything lined up.”
Martinez said the burning will slow or stop any future wildfires that may develop in the area.
“For this 8-mile area between here and Woodland Park, this will tie off and essentially create a speed bump for any future fire events,” he said. “So it gives us a place to anchor.”
Martinez responded to public concerns that such intentional burning is disruptive to wildlife.
“The animals are more afraid of (foresters) than they are of the fire,” he said. “The animals have plenty of time to avoid it.”
The Forest Service last did a prescribed burn in the area in 2009. The area is near the southern edge of the Hayman Fire zone. That 2002 fire ranks as the largest in state history.
Message boards have been placed at key locations around the burns to alert residents. The Forest Service asks that people in those areas do not call authorities to report the fires.
