BLM Turns Wildfire Response into Opportunity for Forest Management and Local Industry

Montrose, Colo. – A firebreak along Cimarron Road during the Gold Mountain Fire served another purpose, too: putting removed trees to use.

When wildfire conditions make direct suppression difficult or unsafe, firefighters look for places where they can use the landscape to slow a fire's spread. Reducing vegetation along roads can create a break in fuels, giving firefighters another option if conditions change.

That approach was used along nearly 2 miles of Cimarron Road northeast of Ridgway. Crews removed vegetation within approximately 75 feet of the roadside to create a potential firebreak if the fire moved in that direction. Before the work began, Ken Smothers, forester with the BLM's Gunnison Field Office, completed an expedited timber cruise to identify trees that could be recovered and sold rather than left as waste.

That work resulted in the Cimarron Lump Sum Salvage Timber Sale, allowing approximately 211 saw logs of Alpine fir, spruce and aspen to be sold to a local mill. A second saw log sale from the area was held Aug. 19, providing additional forest products to the local market.

“Public lands are working landscapes, and this project is a great example of that,” said Smothers. “We prepared for the possibility of wildfire while making sure the trees we removed could be put to good use instead of going to waste.”

Although the Gold Mountain Fire did not reach the Cimarron Road area, the firebreak remained available if conditions changed, giving firefighters another potential containment point during the incident.

The value of these sales extends beyond the volume of timber sold. They provide forest products to local businesses, keep materials in the local economy and contribute to healthier, more resilient forests.

The work also aligns with President Donald Trump's March 2025 executive order, “Immediate Expansion of American Timber Production,” which encourages active forest management and greater use of forest materials from public lands to support domestic wood products industries.