The Madison Ranger District of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest may implement prescribed fire pile burning operations in the southern Gravelly Range near Hoodoo Pass (Trail 6019) and Jackpine Gulch (NFS 1209) this week. The piles consist of residual fuels from the Goose Fire of 2021 and non-merchantable material from a post-fire timber sale. 
 

Minimal smoke impacts are anticipated, especially during the day. Residual smoke that pools overnight may be visible in the early morning hours from the valley and US Highway 287. 
 

For updates or more information, contact the Madison Ranger District at (406) 682-4253.

Prescribed fire pile burning operations continue across the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest, as we experience snow accumulations and weather conditions conducive to burning.
 

Potential pile burning locations include:
🔥 Basin Creek Aspen project, south of Butte. 
🔥 Red Rocks project, 5-10 miles west of the Bernice I-15 exit.
🔥 Steel Creek area, east of Wisdom on FS Road 2433.
 

Minimal smoke impacts are anticipated; however, smoke may be visible along Interstate 15 near Bernice and from the towns of Butte and Wisdom. The piles should consume fully, and smoke will dissipate quickly via dispersion by transport winds moving through the areas. 

For more information on the prescribed fire and fuels management program on the B-D, visit the Forest website or contact the local Ranger Districts for specific project details.
Butte Ranger District at (406) 494-2147.
Wisdom Ranger District at (406) 689-3243.

As winter weather sets in, fire and fuels officials on the Wisdom Ranger District of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest continue to implement prescribed fire pile burning projects this week. 
 

Pile burning project areas include:
🔥 Trapper Creek project area (Unit 20) - 10 miles northwest of Melrose
🔥 Wise River administrative/work center
🔥 Wisdom administrative/work center
 

Minimal smoke impacts are anticipated; however, smoke may be visible from Highway 91 and Interstate 15 corridors and the towns of Glendale and Melrose. Hand piles should consume quickly, and smoke will be dispersed by transport winds moving through the areas. 
 

For updates or more information, contact the Wisdom Ranger District at (406) 689-3243.

Fire and Fuels Management officials on the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest have been busy implementing prescribed fire and pile burning operations across the Forest, accomplishing important forest health and fuels reduction work.
 

On the Butte Ranger District, personnel have completed pile burning operations on approximately 2,500 hand piles covering 50 acres in the Basin Creek Aspen project south of Butte. This constitutes about half of the planned pile burning for the project this winter. On the Red Rock project, located 5-10 miles west of the Bernice I-15 exit, personnel are waiting for adequate snow in order to burn about 500 landing piles.
 

On the Wisdom Ranger District, personnel recently completed pile burning operations on over 50 landing piles and 300 hand piles, in association with the Pintler Face 3 project. In addition, piles along FS Rd 944 and in the Big Swamp project areas were slated for completion days later.
 

Prescribed fires are low intensity fires, carefully planned and ignited by trained personnel to remove excess fuels such as vegetation and dead and downed wood that would enable future wildfires to burn hotter and longer.
 

By utilizing prescribed fires, Forest Service units are working to improve forest health by:
• minimizing the spread of invasive insects and disease,
• removing unwanted species that threaten native species,
• improving wildlife habitat,
• recycling nutrients back into the soil,
• promoting the growth of native trees, wildflowers, and other native flora and fauna, and
• removing hazardous fuels to decrease the risk of catastrophic wildfires. 
 

As winter weather sets in, fire and fuels managers shift focus to burning numerous acres of hand and machine created piles. Pile burning, like larger broadcast prescribed burning operations, follows a set of guidelines within a “prescription” or burn plan. Piles are burned when there is sufficient snow or moisture on the ground so that fires will not spread.
 

Air quality is a significant value that is considered by land managers during every phase of a prescribed fire, from planning and mitigation to implementation. Prescribed fires may be postponed due to air quality or weather conditions. In addition, lighting operations may be ceased at an early point in the day, so that smoke can more readily disperse during the afternoon and evening hours. 
 

Smoke impacts are an important consideration to the implementation phase. Forest officials work closely with Montana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and must receive direct approval from DEQ to burn during the winter months of December through February.
 

Prescribed burning and pile burning are critical to the fuels management program, essential to restoring fire-adapted ecosystems. In the Northern Region, fire plays an important role on the landscape. As part of the agency’s nationwide Wildfire Crisis Strategy, the Forest Service will continue to work with Tribes, partners, and communities to expand this work in the coming years, improving forest health and reducing wildfire risk.
 

For more information on the prescribed fire and fuels management program on the B-D, visit the Forest website or contact the local Ranger District for specific project details.
 

Fire and fuels management officials on the Pintler Ranger District of the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest may implement prescribed fire pile burning operations this week, as weather conditions allow. 
 

Project areas include the following:
🔥 Molten Copper (Moose Lake) - 18 miles SW of Philipsburg.
🔥 Upper Willow Salvage - 13 miles NW of Philipsburg.
🔥 Rancho Deluxe - 10 miles S of Gold Creek.
🔥 East Deer Lodge Valley Restoration - 16 miles E of Anaconda.
🔥 Georgetown Lake Recreation Sites - adjacent to Georgetown Lake.
 

Minimal smoke impacts are anticipated; however, smoke may be visible from Moose Lake, Anaconda, Gold Creek, and Georgetown Lake.
 

For updates or more information, check the Forest website or contact the Pintler Ranger District at (406) 859-3211.

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest is planning to implement prescribed fire projects this spring, as weather and fuels conditions allow. Prescribed fire activity is highly weather dependent, relying on close coordination with the National Weather Service. Depending on these conditions, the prescribed fire units could be burned as early as the first week of April. 

Prescribed fires are carefully planned and conducted in accordance with a written burn plan. Prior to implementation, Forest fire managers coordinate with local cooperators, county officials, and interagency partners. When prescription criteria are met, firefighters implement, monitor, and patrol each burn to ensure it meets forest health and public safety objectives. All prescribed fires will be implemented in compliance with Montana air quality standards and coordinated with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the appropriate county health departments to minimize the impacts of smoke. Smoke may pool in drainage bottoms and along highway corridors overnight; impacts are expected to dissipate in a few days.
 

Why use prescribed fires? Prescribed fires help reduce surface fuels, increasing landscape wildfire resilience and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire effects on the landscape. In addition, they improve and maintain forest health and wildlife habitat and eliminate invasive species. The forest ecosystems in the Northern Rockies have evolved with fire, with many of them relying on periodic fires to establish and maintain forest health. 
“The intent behind these cool season prescribed fires is to reintroduce fire as a natural disturbance agent on the landscape under conditions that are more achievable for natural resource objectives,” said prescribed fire burn boss and Fuels Program Manager for the Forest, Greg Schenk.

Benefits of prescribed fire as a forest management tool:
•    Protects communities and infrastructure by reducing hazardous fuels and the risk of future high-intensity wildfires.
•    Mitigates future wildfire risk and promote resilient fire-adapted landscapes.
•    Reduces build-up of flammable vegetation, dead and down trees, and overgrowth.
•    Improves and supports wildlife habitat for many species on the Forest.
•    Limits the spread of invasive plant species and minimizes the spread of pest insects and disease, maintaining native ecosystems.
•    Recycles nutrients back into the soil.
•    Promotes the growth of trees, plants, wildflowers, and other flora and fauna.
•    Continues the historic, natural fire regime of periodic disturbance by fire in forested ecosystems. 
 

How do we plan? Prescribed fires are planned for various units across the Forest; however, the window of opportunity for prescribed fire implementation is affected by several factors. Safety factors, weather conditions, air quality, personnel availability, and environmental regulations are continually monitored before implementation to determine feasibility of moving forward with the prescribed fire operations, during implementation, and after completion of the unit(s). 
 

Public notifications: Prior to initiating the prescribed fires, fire professionals assess conditions, conduct a test burn, and notify local governments and interested publics via website postings, email, social media, and news releases. Implementation and accomplishment updates will also be posted to the Forest website, Inciweb, and the Forest Facebook page.
 

Safety and monitoring: Trained fire professionals who have studied fire behavior and fire control techniques conduct prescribed fires in such a way to ensure the safety of the fire crew, nearby residents, and property. “Safety of our firefighters and the public is always our number one priority. We only conduct the prescribed fire operations if conditions allow – conditions must be just right on the ground, as identified in the corresponding plans,” said Schenk.
 

For more information about the status of prescribed fires, please visit the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest website and follow us on Facebook for updates. Contact the B-D Forest Fire PIO, Terina Hill at (406) 683-3920 or the B-D Fuels Program Manager, Greg Schenk at (406) 683-3870 for more information on planned prescribed fire projects and status of implementation.
 

Montrose, Colorado, April 18, 2024 — Fire management officials from the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) expect conditions to be favorable for conducting a 112-acre prescribed fire in Ouray County as early as the week of April 22. The burn unit consists of National Forest and private lands located approximately 2 miles southeast of Ridgway. Interagency fire crews will ignite the burn using an unmanned aircraft system and hand ignitions.

The prescribed burn is being conducted as part of the Baldy Mountain Landscape Resiliency and Habitat Improvement Project. Planning and implementation have been a collaborative effort between the GMUG National Forests’ Ouray Ranger District, BLM-Uncompahgre Field Office, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the West Region Wildfire Council, the Mullin’s Ranch and multiple other landowners. The project area includes lands managed by the U.S. Forest Service, BLM and private landowners. The National Forest Foundation (NFF) has been a key partner in coordinating the project.

Project objectives are to reduce the severity of wildfires, protect local communities, create higher quality wildlife habitat and improve the health and resiliency of the landscape. Prescribed burning reintroduces and maintains fire within a fire-dependent ecosystem, helping to stabilize and improve the resiliency of forest conditions while increasing public safety. Once ignited, firefighters will monitor and patrol the units until they declare the fire out. 

Air quality will be closely monitored to mitigate smoke-related impacts to communities. Residual smoke may be visible in the Ouray, Ridgway, Colona and Montrose communities for several days.

The safety of firefighters and the public is the most important factor considered when planning prescribed fires. Fire managers have developed a detailed prescribed fire plan and obtained smoke permits from the State of Colorado. For more information on how prescribed fire smoke may affect your health, please visit https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.

The public is reminded not to call 911 or emergency services if smoke is visible in specific burn areas. For updates on the Baldy Mountain Prescribed burn, visit the Inciweb page here. Prescribed burn updates will also be posted on the GMUG Fire Info page and www.westslopefireinformation.com. 

For information and updates on current fire restrictions, conditions, and recreation opportunities on the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests, visit the forest website. Connect with us on social media (Twitter and Facebook).

Burning operations have begun! Conditions are favorable and the test burn was successful. Burning operations have begun in the Guinn Ridge and Ramshorn Ridge Prescribed Burn Areas in Pocahontas County.

DOLORES, Colo., April 17, 2024 — The San Juan National Forest’s Dolores Ranger District is planning to conduct several prescribed burns starting later this month. Burning operations will take place over multiple days when weather and fuel conditions are favorable and may continue throughout the summer and into fall based on conditions. 

Project areas identified for burn implementation are: 

• Haycamp Mesa: 4,577 acres located 10 miles east of Dolores, along the Haycamp Mesa Road, Forest Service Road (FSR) 556 – Haycamp Mesa Units 5,6, and 9.
• Boggy Draw: 7,540 acres located 3 - 15 miles northeast of Dolores, along the Dolores-Norwood Road near Little Bean Canyon, Boggy Draw Road FSR 527, and Cottonwood Canyon Road FSR 532 – Boggy Draw Units 17, 18, 20, 45, 48, 50, and 51
• Salter: 2,939 acres located 7 - 15 miles east of Cahone, near Salter Y and Ormiston Point Road FSR 521 – Salter Units 32, 33, 34, 37, 39, 41

Both hand and aerial ignition methods may be utilized, following the weather, fuel and smoke parameters stated in the prescribed fire plan. U.S. Forest Service personnel will conduct burning operations with assistance from cooperating agencies. 

During burning operations, smoke may be visible around Dolores, Dove Creek, Cortez, Mancos, Rico, Towaoc, and HWY 491 between Dove Creek and Pleasant View. Smoke may settle into low lying valleys and the Dolores River Canyon overnight. USFS personnel will conduct smoke monitoring, and ignitions will be scheduled to minimize smoke impacts to communities. Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. More information can be found online: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health 

While fire managers always seek to give ample notice of prescribed fire plans to area residents, they are always tentative and subject to change last-minute if conditions are not met. Visitors should be prepared for temporary closures of roads, trails, and dispersed camping areas during prescribed fire operations.

Reintroduction of prescribed fire is necessary to improve and restore vegetative conditions. This effort will reduce hazardous ground fuels, lessen the risk of unplanned large-scale wildfire, help restore ponderosa pine ecosystems, and improve wildlife habitat. Prescribed fire also reduces the ladder fuels that can carry fire into the canopy, killing mature trees.

Maps of the prescribed burn units and additional SJNF prescribed fire program information can be found on InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/cosjf-2024-san-juan-national-forest-prescribed-fire-program. For more information, please contact Fire Management Officer Matthew Traynham at Matthew.Traynham@usda.gov or by phone at (970) 882-6837.  

For information on the San Juan National Forest, call (970) 247-4874, visit the forest website, or follow us on social media (X and Facebook).

-USDA-

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