Fire Managers to Conduct Slash Pile Burns
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CANON CITY, Colo. – The Bureau of Land Management plans to continue burning slash piles on BLM lands within the Royal Gorge Field Office as weather and snow conditions allow.
Interagency personnel from the BLM and U.S. Forest Service office in Cañon City will burn both hand-piled and machine-piled slash on BLM land at the locations described below. The pile burns will remove accumulated slash from previous hazardous fuel reduction projects, and are intended to mitigate the risk of large wildfires. Depending upon weather, smoke may be visible at times during burn operations and immediately afterward.
“We make every effort to manage and minimize smoke,” said Dennis Page, acting Fire Management Officer for the BLM in Cañon City. “We’ve been able to take advantage of the recent storms that have been followed by cold weather. The snow cover has held on pretty well and given us a chance to burn piles where haven’t been able to during the past couple dry winters.”
Burning on any of the following projects could continue into late February or early March depending on weather conditions and snow cover.
Hole in the Rock – 6,500 piles on 118 acres. The piles are hand-made and the surrounding fuel type is piñon/juniper, ponderosa pine and oak brush. The project area is located north of Cañon City off of County Road 11 and east of the High Park Subdivision.
Road Gulch – 5,000 piles on 196 acres. The piles are hand-made and the surrounding fuel type is piñon/juniper and ponderosa pine. The project area is located south of Texas creek off of Road Gulch.
Antelope – 50 piles on 260 acres. The piles are machine-made and have a surrounding fuel type of grass and ponderosa pine. The project area is located 14 miles north of Cañon City on Hwy 9 and about 4 miles south of Guffey.
Jack Hall – 35 piles on 40 acres. The piles are machine-made and have a surrounding fuel type of lodgepole pine and Douglas fir. The project area is located about 14 miles north of Cotopaxi in the Jack Hall Mountain area.
Stoney Face – 10 piles on 20 acres. The piles are machine-made and surrounding fuel type is lodgepole pine. The project area is located north of Cotopaxi on the north side of Stoney Face Mountain.
Indian Wells – 50 piles over 10 acres. The piles are hand-made and the surrounding fuel type is piñon and juniper with scattered ponderosa pine. The project area is located 15 miles southwest of Cañon City and west of the Copper Gulch area.
Whiskey Piles – Six piles on 100 acres. The large piles are hand-made and the surrounding fuel type is ponderosa pine, piñon, juniper and grass. The project area is located just south of County Road 11 and west of the High Park Subdivision.
For more information about these prescribed fire projects, contact Ty Webb at (719) 269-8560.
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.