CAÑON CITY, Colo. - The Bureau of Land Management is preparing to conduct pile burns in nine locations this winter. The specific locations of the pile burns are listed below.

Pile burns could occur as early as November 2021 or any time through March 2022, depending on favorable weather and fuel moisture conditions. The purpose of the pile burns is to remove slash left behind from timber harvests and previous fuels-thinning treatments. These timber harvests and fuels treatments remove beetle-killed timber and other woody 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.

Visible smoke from the pile burns should be expected throughout the day when burning, mostly during the warmest part of the day. With cooler evening temperatures, smoke may linger and accumulate in low-lying areas. Signage will be posted around areas where burning is occurring.

According to the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division, “Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information see www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.”

For additional information, contact Matt Norden, Fire Operations Specialist, (719) 269-8583, or John Markalunas, Deputy Fire Management Officer, (719) 257- 8785, at the BLM’s Rocky Mountain District Fire and Aviation Management office.       

Hole in the Rock – 2,400 hand piles. Legal Location: T16S / R70W / S 7. The surrounding fuels are ponderosa pine, piñon pine, juniper, and Gambel oak. The burn is located north of Cañon City off of Fremont County Road 11 and east of the High Park Subdivision.

Whiskey – 3,000 large hand piles. Legal Location: T16S / R71W / S 8, 9. The surrounding fuels are ponderosa pine, piñon pine, juniper, and grass. The burn is located 6.5 miles southwest of Cripple Creek, south of Fremont County Road 11 and west of the High Park Subdivision.

Likely Gulch – 2,000 hand piles. Legal Location: T20S / R73W / S 5, 6. The surrounding fuels are piñon pine, juniper, and ponderosa pine. The burn is located south of Texas Creek off of Colorado Highway 69 and Road Gulch.

Tyndall – 3 machine piles. Legal Location: T22S / R71W / S 16. The surrounding fuels are ponderosa pine and grass. The burn is located three miles north of Rosita, 7.5 miles east of Westcliffe and south of Colorado Highway 96, near Mount Tyndall.

Pinyon Mountain – 450 hand piles. Legal Location: T48N / R10E / S 10, 11, 15. The surrounding fuels are piñon pine, juniper, ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir. The burn is located directly south of the Acres of Ireland subdivision, 0.75 mile south of U.S. Highway 50, and 1.5 miles south of Howard.

Kerr Gulch – 250 hand piles. Legal Location: T49N / R10E / S 24. The surrounding fuels are piñon pine, juniper, ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir. The burn is located 1.5 miles west of U.S. Highway 50, three miles northwest of the Coaldale.

Thompson Mountain – 35 machine piles. Legal Location: T17S / R71W / S 6. The surrounding fuels are ponderosa pine, piñon pine, juniper, and Gambel oak. The burn is located 13 miles northwest of Cañon City, two miles east of Colorado Highway 9, and in the Deer Haven area near Thompson Mountain.

Waugh Mountain – 50 hand and machine piles. Legal Location: T51N / R12E / S 33. The piles consist of Douglas fir and Engelman spruce logging slash, within surrounding fuels that include Douglas fir, Engelman spruce, bristlecone pine, and limber pine. The burn is located 25 miles northwest of Cañon City, 19 miles northeast of Salida, and two miles south of Fremont County Road 2.

Stone Cabin – 50 hand and machine piles. Legal Location: T12S / R79W / S 8. The surrounding fuels are ponderosa pine and Douglas fir. The burn is located 14 miles northwest of Buena Vista, 16 miles south of Leadville, and immediately east of Clear Creek Reservoir.

 
November 12, 2020 News Release

Bureau of Land Management plans fall-winter pile burns in Chaffee, Custer, and Fremont counties 
The Bureau of Land Management Rocky Mountain District Fire and Aviation Management Unit is preparing to conduct pile burns in nine locations this winter on Royal Gorge Field Office-managed lands in Chaffee, Fremont, and Custer counties.  

The objective of the pile burns is to remove the slash left behind from timber harvests and previous fuels treatments. Timber harvests and fuels treatments remove beetle-killed timber and other fuels, reducing the risk of future catastrophic wildfires. They also help create various stages of plant succession, which is critical to the health of fire-adapted ecosystems. These burns will remove the leftover piled fuels but may burn some nearby live vegetation in in the project area, as well.

The locations of these pile burn projects for winter 2020-2021 are as follows: 

• Hole in the Rock: 2,400 hand-built piles among Ponderosa Pine, Piñon Pine, Juniper and Gambel Oak. The project area is located north of Cañon City, off Fremont County Road 11 and east of the High Park Subdivision.
• Whiskey: 3,000 large hand-built piles among Ponderosa Pine, Piñon Pine, Juniper, and grass. The project area is located 6.5 miles southwest of Cripple Creek, south of Fremont County Road 11 and west of the High Park Subdivision.
  
• Likely Gulch: 2,000 hand-built piles among Piñon Pine, Juniper and Ponderosa Pine. The project area is located south of Texas Creek off CO Highway 69 and Road Gulch.
  
• Mt. Harvard Estates: 1,250 hand-built piles among Piñon Pine, Juniper and grass. The project area is located 5.5 miles north of Buena Vista, CO, ½ mile east of US 24, and immediately north and east of the Mt. Harvard Estates subdivision.
  
• Tyndall: Three machine-built piles among Ponderosa Pine and grass. The project area is located 3 miles north of Rosita, 7.5 miles east of Westcliffe and south of CO Highway 96, near Mount Tyndall.
  
• Pinyon Mountain: 450 hand-built piles among Piñon Pine, Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, and Douglas Fir. The project area is located south of the Acres of Ireland subdivision, ¾ mile south of US 50, and 1.5 miles south of Howard, CO.
  
• Kerr Gulch: 250 hand-built piles among Piñon Pine, Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, and Douglas Fir.  The project area is located 1.5 miles west of US 50, 3 miles northwest of the Coaldale, CO.
• Thompson Mountain: 35 machine-built piles among Ponderosa Pine, Piñon Pine, Juniper, and Gambel Oak. The project area is located 13 miles northwest of Cañon City, 2 miles east of CO Highway 9, and in the Deer Haven area near Thompson Mountain.
  
• Mount Shavano: 500 hand-built piles among Piñon Pine, Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, and Douglas Fir. The project area is located 3.5 miles north of US 50, 3.5 miles west of US 285, and 5.5 miles northwest of Poncha Springs, CO.
  

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 accumulate in low-lying areas. According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information on wildland fire smoke, please visit the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division’s website: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health. 

Information on Royal Gorge Field Office winter 2020-2021 pile burns will be available on Inciweb (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/)  or on Facebook at @BLMColoradoFire as conditions become favorable to conduct these burns. For additional information, please contact Matt Norden, Fire Operations Specialist, at (719) 269-8583, or John Markalunas, Assistant Fire Management Officer, at (719) 852-8160.

February 2, 2020: With the expected weather coming to central Colorado in the coming days, Rocky Mountain District Fire is planning on completing the Mt. Shavano pile burn on Thursday February 4 or Friday February 5. Crews anticipate needing one day to complete the remaining piles at this location. Updates will be available on this page as they become available. 

January 26, 10:00 a.m.:
Today's snow will allow Rocky Mountain District Fire staff to continue burning the Mt. Shavano piles northwest of Poncha Springs. Crews plan on burning today, January 26 and tomorrow, Wednesday January 27. 
Smoke will again be visible from US Highway 285, US Highway 50, and Salida through the day.

January 25, 5:00 p.m.:
BLM-Rocky Mountain District Fire will be conducting the Mt. Shavano pile burn in Chaffee County on Tuesday January 26 and Wednesday January 27. If conditions are favorable, crews are expected to begin ignitions on the morning of January 26 continuing until approximately 3:00 p.m. If conditions remain favorable, crews will also burn in this location on Wednesday, January 27. There is currently approximately one foot or more of snow on the ground throughout the project area and snow is expected overnight tonight and through tomorrow. 

Smoke will be visible from US Highway 285, US Highway 50, and Salida through the days of the burn. Personnel will be on scene conducting ignitions and monitoring the piles through the days. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may accumulate in low-lying areas.

January 22, 4:00 p.m.:Crews successfully concluded their third day of burning at the Mt. Shavano location northwest of Poncha Springs and 7 miles west of Salida. Approximately 900 piles were burned over the course of three days. There will be no burning over the weekend. Approximately 800 piles remain at this location that crews will burn when conditions allow in the coming weeks. Light smoke may be visible from still-smoldering piles. Firefighters will be periodically checking on last week's burned piles over the weekend. 

January 22, 10:00 a.m.:Rocky Mountain District Fire staff are expecting favorable smoke dispersion conditions today, which will allow a third day of burning on the Mt. Shavano pile burn. Smoke will again be visible from US Highway 285, US Highway 50, and Salida through the day.

January 21, 3:00 p.m.:
Crews were successful in burning approximately 300 piles again today. If conditions are favorable, crews are planning to burn at this location tomorrow.  

January 21, 2021, 10:30 a.m.:
Rocky Mountain District Fire staff are expecting to smoke dispersion conditions to improve today, allowing continued work on the Mt. Shavano pile burn. Smoke will again be visible from US Highway 285, US Highway 50, and Salida through the day.

January 20, 2021, 3:00 p.m.:
Crews have completed ignitions on 300 piles over 45 acres at the Mt. Shavano pile burn today. Firefighters will remain on scene to monitor piles through the afternoon. Smoke will remain visible as the piles continue to smolder. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may accumulate in low-lying areas. If conditions are favorable, crews are planning to burn at this location tomorrow.  

January 20, 2021, 11:33 a.m.:
Crews have successfully burned a test pile to ground truth conditions and will be continuing with ignitions. Smoke will be visible from US Highway 285, US Highway 50, and Salida through the day today. January 19, 2021:

BLM-Rocky Mountain District Fire will be conducting the Mt. Shavano pile burn in Chaffee County on Wednesday January 20 and Thursday January 21. The project area is located northwest of Poncha Springs, 7 miles west of Salida. This burn will eliminate piled and cured fuels left from past fuels reduction projects. This operation was postponed from last week due to high winds over the project area. Crews will be burning 500 piles over approximately 138 acres. 
If conditions are favorable, crews are expected to begin ignitions on the morning of Wednesday, January 20 continuing until approximately 3:00 p.m. If conditions remain favorable, crews will also burn in this location on Thursday, January 21. There is currently approximately one foot or more of snow on the ground throughout the project area. 
Smoke will be visible from US Highway 285, US Highway 50, and Salida through the days of the burn. Personnel will be on scene conducting ignitions and monitoring the piles through the days. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may accumulate in low-lying areas.
For more information on this or other prescribed burns on BLM Royal Gorge Field Office lands, please bookmark this Inciweb page or visit the BLM Colorado Fire Facebook page, @BLMColoradoFire. 

January 14, 2021:
Today’s pile burn near Mt. Shavano in Chaffee County has been postponed. Winds in the project area are stronger than were initially predicted. Crews will look for favorable conditions to conduct the burn next week. Please check back to this page or to the BLM Colorado Fire Facebook page for updates.

January 12, 2021:
BLM-Rocky Mountain District Fire is planning to conduct the Mt. Shavano pile burn later this week on January 14 and 15. The project area is located northwest of Poncha Springs, 7 miles west of Salida. This burn will eliminate piled cured fuels left from past fuels reduction projects. Crews will be burning 500 piles over approximately 138 acres. 

Crews are expected to begin the burn on the morning of Thursday, January 14, and continue ignitions into the afternoon. If conditions are favorable, crews will continue the operation on Friday, January 15. There is currently approximately one foot or more of snow on the ground throughout the project area. 

Smoke will be visible through the days of the burn. Personnel will be on scene conducting ignitions and monitoring the piles through the days. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may accumulate in low-lying areas.  
For more information on this or other prescribed burns on BLM Royal Gorge Field Office lands, please bookmark this Inciweb page or visit the BLM Colorado Fire Facebook page, @BLMColoradoFire. 
Please see the news release below, distributed in November 2020, for further information on BLM prescribed fire and fuels reduction efforts for the winter 2020-2021. 

January 5, 2021 UPDATE
4:30 p.m. 
Crews were able to burn almost 1000 piles today north of Buena Vista to complete the Midland/Mount Harvard Estates pile burn. Crews will continue checking on the piles into the evening and will be monitoring periodically through the day on Wednesday. As cooler temperatures cool this evening, smoke may settle into low lying areas including along the Arkansas River. Thanks to the Pike-San Isabel National Forests Mountain Zone Fire staff who joined today's efforts to get this project completed for the year. 
 
Please stay tuned to this page for updates on future pile burn projects in other areas that are expected to occur in the coming weeks.  

January 5, 2021 UPDATE 
9:30 a.m. 

Crews are beginning ignitions on the Midland-Mount Harvard Estates pile burn near Buena Vista. Smoke will be visible through the day and crews will be on scene conducting ignitions and monitoring piles. If favorable conditions continue, ignitions will continue into mid-afternoon. Winds are currently calm in the project area, but are expected to pick up through the day which should help with smoke dispersion. Additional updates will be posted to this page and to the BLM Colorado Fire Facebook page. 

January 4, 2021 UPDATE 

BLM-Rocky Mountain District Fire expects to conduct pile burns near Buena Vista this week, the week of January 4, 2021, adjacent to the Mount Harvard Estates subdivision. This burn will eliminate piled and cured fuels left from past fuels reduction projects.  

Crews are expected to begin the burn on the morning of Tuesday, January 5 and continue ignitions into the afternoon. If conditions are favorable through the week, crews are expected to continue burning from mid-morning to mid-afternoon each day through Thursday January 7. There is currently approximately one foot of snow on the ground throughout the project area.  

Smoke will be visible through the days of the burn. Personnel will be on scene conducting ignitions and monitoring the piles through the days. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may accumulate in low-lying areas. 

For more information on this or other prescribed burns on BLM Royal Gorge Field Office lands, please visit this Inciweb (https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7266/) or the BLM Colorado Fire Facebook page, @BLMColoradoFire.

Please see the news release below, distributed in November 2020, for further information on BLM prescribed fire and fuels reduction efforts for the winter 2020-2021. 

McCall, Idaho, December 1, 2020  The Woodhead Fire Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) Plan has been approved, and work to stabilize burned watersheds and repair small infrastructure is being scheduled for prompt completion. Approved treatments will be implemented over the next 12 months using federal dollars on federal lands.

 

Storm damage risk reduction treatments will be undertaken on roads affected by high or moderate severity fire. The roads are at risk of erosion by increased runoff as a result of the fire burned landscape. Treatments include cleaning culverts and ditches, removing fire debris like rocks and downed trees from roadway, and installing rolling dips to drain the road surface. Some pre-winter work was done to improve ditches and culverts ahead of spring run-off and the rest of the work will be done in spring or summer of 2021.

 

Next growing season will be a prime opportunity for weed treatment on fire-suppression damaged lands (rehabbed firelines to mitigate noxious weed infestations on disturbed ground), weed treatments on lands affected by high or moderate severity fire where noxious weed infestation threatens naturalized or native plant communities.

 

Work is also planned on small forest infrastructure managed by the Forest. Trail work will be undertaken to reestablish drainage and repair any damaged trail tread to protect soil and water resources. The forest is also installing burned area caution/warning signs on key roads and trails, for public safety. A damaged wing wall on the Brownlee Creek bridge and the Brownlee Campground fence will be repaired.

 

The Woodhead Fire burned 96,614 acres in a mosaic pattern west of Cambridge and Council, Idaho in September and October 2020. Satellite imagery of the burned area and field work during the BAER assessment process found that inside the fire perimeter most of the land is a patchwork of unburned, low severity, or moderate severity. High severity burned areas is where most of the post-fire watershed effects are likely to occur, namely in Crooked River, No Business Basin, and Brownlee Creek.

 

All fire closure orders have been lifted and the burned area is open to public entry as normal. Forest users are advised to be aware of post-fire hazards. Information about recreating and traveling safely in a burned area as well as other information about the Woodhead BAER effort is available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7262/.

 

The Woodhead Fire BAER Assessment is available on Inciweb and has been shared with other agencies as requested. 

McCall, Idaho, October 13, 2020 – The Woodhead Fire has burned almost 100,000 acres to date, though the fire is not yet contained. The fire is located east of Council, Idaho including lands in the Payette National Forest. Starting September 28, a team of Forest Service specialists are conducting field assessments to determine the need for burned area emergency response (BAER) treatments. Specialists include hydrology, soils, engineering, botany, range, recreation, fisheries, archeology, and wildlife. BAER is a specific effort to reduce further damage due to the land being temporarily exposed in a fragile condition. Loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; water runoff may increase and cause flooding; sediment may move downstream and damage houses or fill reservoirs, putting habitat and community water supplies at risk. The BAER program is designed to address these situations through the key goals of protecting life, property, water quality, and deteriorated ecosystems.

Led by West Zone Hydrologist Melanie Vining, the Woodhead Fire BAER Team uses satellite imagery of the burned area to classify the landscape into low, moderate, and high soil burn severity. Ground-truthing the satellite imagery is ongoing, but generally the fire on the forest burned in a mosaic pattern with most of the burned area preliminarily classified as unburned, low severity, or moderate severity. The burned area is initially classified using the satellite imagery and adjustments in classification are being made based on ground surveys and updated imagery while the fire is not yet contained. Eventually these efforts will result in a final soil burn severity map which can be shared with adjacent landowners, other agencies, and the interested public.

The entire burned area is mapped, though the field work and treatments identified by the Forest Service BAER Team are limited to only the acres of burned area on the Payette National Forest. A BAER Plan summarizing the assessment results and describing the proposed treatments will be prepared and submitted for approval. Approved treatments will be implemented over the next 12 months using federal dollars on federal lands.

Areas of concern for watershed impacts are in places that experienced higher burn severity, namely in Crooked River, No Business Basin, and Brownlee Creek. To date, major federal infrastructure was not lost to the fire, though there is likely damage to trails, signage, fences, and similar minor infrastructure that might need replacement. The BAER assessment team will be looking at those impacts more closely over the coming days.

After the fire burn severity map is completed and the BAER treatment plan is approved additional information will be provided to the public. While the BAER program does not prescribe treatments on non-federal lands, the assessment and hydrologic risk analysis can be useful to adjacent and downstream landowners to inform their own range of possible treatments. The Woodhead BAER team continues to share information with County officials and other agencies who in turn coordinate with affected landowners.

Information about fire operations, maps, and closure information for the Woodhead fire is available at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7163/

 Both north and south bound lanes are fully open for regular traffic with no traffic slows. Please continue to drive with caution as firefighters may be working near right of ways. 

 HWY 87 south to Amarillo is open but open to one lane only to provide for the safety of traffic and firefighters working to the west of the highway. Please drive with caution and to road conditions. 

HWY 87 North is now open for regular traffic. Please drive with caution through this area as smoke may still be present. Traffic may be slowed for firefighting suppression operations.