As early as Monday, April 21, the San Juan National Forest’s Dolores Ranger District will start its several planned prescribed burns.
“Operations will take place over multiple days when weather and fuel conditions are favorable and may continue throughout the early summer based on conditions,” according to a U.S. Forest Service news release.
Forest Service personnel will be conducting the burns with the help of local fire districts.
Three project areas were outlined :
- Haycamp Mesa: 1,657 acres, 10 miles east of Dolores.
- Boggy Draw: 6,481 acres, about 15 miles northeast of Dolores.
- Salter/Carlyle: 1,659 acres, 15 miles east of Cahone.
Prescribed burn are meant to “reduce hazardous ground fuels, lessen the risk of unplanned large-scale wildfire, help restore ponderosa pine ecosystems and improve wildlife habitat.”
It also reduces “ladder fuels can carry fire into the canopy, killing mature trees,” the news release said.
Expect to see smoke around Mancos, Dolores, Dove Creek, Cortez and near Pleasant View, too, once the prescribed burns start. Smoke may even settle into “low lying valleys and the Dolores River Canyon overnight,” the news release said.
For more information, contact Acting Fire Management Officer Caleb Schutz, via email at Caleb.Schutz@usda.gov or at (970) 882-6844.
