Durango Parks and Recreation is joining forces with Durango Fire Protection District and the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control to burn up to 50 slash piles in Dalla Mountain Park starting Friday.
But other piles are being left as they are to decompose and replenish the soil. Choosing what piles to burn and what piles to leave to the whims of nature requires a balance between fire prevention and health of the environment.
The slash piles have been on Parks and Recreation’s radar for years, but weather conditions either weren’t right or DFPD was preoccupied with other duties when weather conditions were favorable, Amy Schwarzbach, natural resources manager for the city of Durango, said earlier this month.
The snow left by the storm that passed through the Durango area on Monday presents the city and fire district with the opportunity to finally address the burn piles at Dalla Mountain Park, she said. The prescribed burns do not necessitate the closure of Dalla Mountain Park trails and signs have been posted at the trailheads.
The piles were consolidated away from trails by the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control so regular recreational activities should go uninterrupted, although smoke from the burns could be present, according to a news release from the city of Durango. Smoke and fire could be visible at the park for a few days after the burns.
Durango Parks and Recreation is lucky the area was graced with snow this week because some of the old slash piles were starting to decompose. When a pile reaches a certain point of decomposition it becomes more difficult to ignite. But that’s not always a problem.
Schwarzbach said there are advantages to burning slash piles as well as allowing them to decay in place. It isn’t a good idea to leave many piles closely assembled for extended periods because the risk of large fires becomes greater the more fuels are available.
But sometimes, slash piles might be placed in precipitous places along steep hillsides or under power lines, and it’s better to let them rot than to risk knocking burning branches downhill, she said.
“The decomposing piles are good for wildlife and they do replenish nutrients to the soil,” she said. “But because of decades of suppressing fire there are just too many fuels out there. So it’s just a matter of striking the balance.”
One advantage to burning slash piles is that fire fuels are being removed from the landscape. “Catastrophic” wildland fires and unpredictable annual weather patterns in recent years had land managers and fire prevention crews concerned about idling slash piles because they didn’t know what conditions to expect, she said. They determined it is better to remove the majority of piles.
Advantages to allowing a slash pile to decompose over time are that eventually, the pile will decompose and become harder to ignite naturally, and rotting logs and branches make excellent habitats for a variety of species across biological kingdoms, she said.
“Lots of bugs and fungi break down the wood and then release nutrients back into the soil. And then your new round of plants come back around,” she said. “And then it’s amazing how many species live off of a dead log. The bugs to the fungi to amphibians and reptiles and then, obviously, the critters that eat those guys. It does become its own habitat type.”
The decomposing fire fuels will also replenish soil health, she said.
Durango Parks and Recreation and DFPD will monitor the burn areas daily, the news release says. Burns are also planned this month for Overend Mountain Park, according to another city release published in November.
cburney@durangoherald.com
