The timing of the announcement might be seen as strange, given the continuing impact from the Decker Fire burning nine miles south of Salida, dumping smoke into the Arkansas River Valley. But the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has just announced that it is preparing to conduct a prescribed burn in the Deer Haven area. This is approximately 15 miles northwest of Cañon City, south of High Park Road, and west of County Road 69 in northern Fremont County.
In its announcement, the BLM says that implementation of the prescribed fire project could take place sometime between early-to-mid October. The BLM offers assurances that starting the burn will depend on favorable weather and fuel moisture conditions.
A BLM prescribed burn near Glenwood Springs. (Photo courtesy of Post Independent)
The project will include approximately 107 acres of BLM land, “to reduce accumulated hazardous fuel and improve wildlife habitat.” Prescribed fire is a treatment method to help to create various stages of plant succession; considered critical to the health of fire-adapted ecosystems.
The burn will target fuels include Ponderosa pine, Gambel oak, decadent grasses and other ground fuel that has accumulated since previous treatments. The BLM says the project will create a mosaic of burned and unburned areas intended to reduce conifer encroachment in grass parks while improving forage for wildlife and domestic livestock.
Once the prescribed burn is underway, the BLM says that smoke will be visible throughout the day of the burn, mostly during the warmest part of the day. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke tends to pool in low-lying areas. Firefighters will be on scene throughout the burn.
The BLM is aware that fire smoke may affect health. For more information, they suggest visiting the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division’s website: www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.
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