The San Juan National Forest’s Pagosa Ranger District is planning to conduct prescribed burns starting in September.
Burning operations may take place over multiple days when weather and fuel conditions are favorable for meeting objectives described in the prescribed fire plan.
Burning operations will utilize both hand and aerial ignitions, and will be conducted by Forest Service personnel and cooperating agencies.
Burns will take place in the following locations:
• Fawn Gulch (1,100 acres) adjacent to Fawn Gulch Road (Forest Service Road 666) northeast of Pagosa Springs.
• Mill Creek (300 acres) adjacent to Nipple Mountain Road (Forest Service Road 665) east of Pagosa Springs.
• Turkey Springs northwest of town between Newt Jack Road (Forest Service Road 923) and the Catamount Trail (650 acres).
Additionally, multiple pile burns will take place at various locations later in the year when snow is present. These areas include Eight Mile Mesa, Turkey Springs, Fawn Gulch, Buckles Lake Road, East Monument Road, Quartz Meadow Road and the upper Piedra area near Williams Creek Campground.
The Columbine Ranger District began its fall prescribed fire operations in the Fosset Gulch area of the Southern HDs on Sept. 9.
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.
These burn units are part of mechanical fuels reduction projects designed to reduce hazardous ground fuels and long-term risk of catastrophic wildfire, as well as restoring ponderosa pine ecosystems, and improving wildlife habitat.
Smoke will be visible from U.S 160 and U.S. 84, and from Pagosa Springs.
Smoke from wildfires and prescribed fires may affect your health. More information on smoke is available at https://cdphe.colorado.gov/wood-smoke-and-your-health.
Maps of the prescribed burn units and additional information can be found on Inciweb. For more information, please contact Fred Ellis, assistant fire management officer (fuels), Pagosa Ranger District, at fred.ellis@usda.gov.
For information on the San Juan National Forest, call (970) 247-4874 or visit the forest website.
