BLM plans pile burns near Mt. Harvard
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CANON CITY, Colo - The Bureau of Land Management is preparing to conduct pile burning near Mt. Harvard Estates this winter. The burns will be located 5.5 miles north of BuenaVista, Colo.; 0.5 mile East of U.S. Highway 24, and immediately northeast of the Mt. Harvard Estates subdivision (T13S / R79W / S 13). There are approximately 2,000 hand-built piles consisting of Piñon Pine limbs, and the surrounding fuels are Piñon Pine, Juniper and grass.
Depending on weather and fuel moisture conditions, the pile burns could begin in Oct. 2017 and continue into March 2018. The objective of the pile burn is to remove the slash left behind from timber harvests and previous fuels thinning treatments. These timber harvests and fuels treatments remove beetle killed timber and other fuels, reducing the risk of future catastrophic wildfire. They also help create various stages of plant succession, which is critical to the health of fire-adapted ecosystems.
Smoke from the pile burns will be visible throughout the day of the burn, mostly during the warmest part of the day. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may linger and accumulate in low lying areas.
According to the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division, “Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information see www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe
For additional information, contact Matt Norden, Fire Operations Specialist, 719-269-8583, at the BLM Rocky Mountain District Front Range Fire and Aviation Management Unit in Cañon City.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.