March 3, 2023 - Evening Update – Today’s burn operations have concluded, there may still be smoke and flames may be visible through the night, all piles are lined and surrounded by snow and holding in place. This will be in patrol status and monitored. There was a total of 21 acres accomplished.

#PrescribedBurn #PrescribedFire #ForestHealth #MillCCreekPrescribedBurn

March 3, 2023 - The San Bernardino National Forest (SBNF) Front Country Ranger District will be conducting pile-burning operations today weather and environmental conditions allowed. Operations will begin around 9:00am and continue until approximately 5:00pm. There is a plan to burn approximately 21 acres occurring in the Mill Creek area. Residents and visitors will see flames and smoke visible throughout the day and evening. Firefighters will be monitoring the area until all piles are extinguished.

Prescribed fire plays an important role in forest health and in reducing extreme wildfires and their negative impact. These fires also help reduce heavy fuel loads while simultaneously opening the conifer forest structure and maintaining the health of meadow habitats. Fire is also used to enhance native plant communities and cultural landscapes and improve wildlife habitats. Another goal is to provide defensible space for communities and developed areas within and surrounding the SBNF. With all fire comes smoke, and the U.S. Forest Service work to mitigate smoke impacts from prescribed fires on the communities in the area.

#PrescribedBurn #PrescribedFire #ForestHealth #MillCreekPrescribedBurn

After a week of storms and windy conditions, today the Grindstone Ranger District was able to successfully complete four acres of machine pile burning at the Red Bluff Recreation Area.  Firefighters remained on scene for several hours and will continue to monitor the piles until all ignitions are fully out.

Smoke may continue to be visible until the piles are completely consumed.

With winter weather continuing to bring moisture to Northern New Mexico, Carson National Forest fire staff are preparing to move forward with ignitions of debris piles near the communities of Ojo Sarco and Canjilon. These prescribed fires would only move forward pending suitable conditions. 

Fire crews this week completed the 2023 Willow Piles Prescribed Fire, where debris piles created from 421 acres of thinning near Hopewell Lake were treated. It was the first prescribed fire on the Carson National Forest since the USDA Forest Service National Prescribed Fire Review was released in September 2022. 

“Our first project using the requirements and recommendations from the national review was a success,” said Forest Supervisor James Duran. “Nonetheless, we will still move forward thoughtfully as we re-engage communities and partners in different parts of the Forest.” 

Ojo Sarco Piles Prescribed Fire 

Ignitions of piles outside Ojo Sarco, NM, could begin as early as Mar. 7. The piles, which were created from 137 acres of thinning, are south of the community and along New Mexico Highway 76. 

This is a continuation of years of work to provide fuelwood opportunities and increase forest health and resiliency around Ojo Sarco, which is positioned atop sloped terrain aligned with predominate southwest winds. A fire start southwest of the community is a concern to fire managers because the typical southwesterly flow of winds could spread a fire to the northeast, where the community is situated. But with reduced fuel around the community because of this project, a safer space is created for firefighters to engage a wildfire and for crews to safely continue prescribed fire as a fuels reduction tool in the wildland-urban interface. 

“I’m eager to see these piles addressed before the spring so they do not add to any fire danger over the upcoming fire season” said Camino Real District Ranger Michael Lujan. “Getting to this point has been a long journey, but we couldn’t do it without the support of the public and partner organizations.” 

The 417-acre Ojo Sarco project has had several phases, including a public green fuelwood block in 2016, a thinning contract in 2017 and hand piling by Rocky Mountain Youths Corps followed by prescribed fire in 2018. The remaining 137 acres were thinned and piled this past summer by local contractors from Mora and Taos, who were subcontracted by the nonprofit – and Carson National Forest partner – New Mexico Forest Industry Association. The area has been opened several times throughout the life of the project to offer dead and down fuelwood to the public. 

On the ground, local fire departments are assisting. Red River Fire Department, along with Forest Service crews, constructed control line along the unit boundary. The Ojo Sarco Volunteer Fire Department is planning to assist Forest Service crews with ignitions of the piles along Highway 76 this winter. 

Canjilon Piles Prescribed Fire 

Debris piles from 53 acres of thinning to the north of Canjilon. NM, could be ignited later this year. The piles are situated on Forest Service land near the boundary with private parcels to reduce fuels and build an extra buffer for future broadcast prescribed fire throughout the larger landscape north of the community. 

Years of work have gone into reducing fuels near communities, restoring forested areas and improving the watershed around Canjilon, an unincorporated agricultural valley completely surrounded by Carson National Forest. A secondary benefit of the treatments has been ongoing opportunities for dead and down fuelwood collection. Thinning and prescribed fire treatments started in 2011 and will continue into future years to maintain the forest's resiliency.  

“We’re not alone in this effort,” said Angie Krall, the acting district ranger for the West Zone, which includes the Canjilon Ranger District. “Fire knows no boundaries and private land owners have been pivotal in thinning and conducting their own fuels reduction treatments.” 

State partners have played a major role in the Canjilon area. The New Mexico Forestry Division has paid $1.97 million for contract crews to conduct thinning on Carson National Forest lands and has assisted landowners with thinning treatments, in most cases directly adjacent to treatments on Carson National Forest lands. The Carson National Forest and New Mexico Forestry Division are planning to continue this partnership to treat additional acres in the next few years. The New Mexico Department of Game & Fish has also contributed several million dollars to forest restoration efforts on the Carson National Forest, including in the Canjilon area, over the last decade 

Stay Updated 

Updates for both projects will be posted to InciWeb (incident pages forthcoming), New Mexico Fire Information and Carson National Forest’s website and social media channels (Facebook, Twitter). Forest staff will hold cooperator meetings with local government partners during and after ignitions. 

Why Prescribed Fire? 

The Forest Service’s national fire management strategy is centered on long-term forest health, and that strategy includes reducing forest fuels and using prescribed fire on the landscape. In order to maintain resiliency, fire-adapted forests in the Southwest region must undergo fire disturbance on a regular basis. After prescribed fire is completed, if a future wildfire reaches this area, the fire behavior will likely be modified to a less intense, more manageable surface fire due to the absence of accumulated debris and ladder fuels.  

The Big Picture 

The Carson National Forest is part of two national initiatives to confront the wildfire crisis and restore lands. The efforts cover 95% of the 1.5 million-acre forest and are broken down into two separate projects: Enchanted Circle Wildfire Crisis Strategy Landscape in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where the Ojo Sarco piles are located, and the Rio Chama Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program in the San Juan Mountains, where the Canjilon piles can be found. Each project involves shared stewardship with multiple partners and cover lands beyond Forest boundaries. 

Join us to discuss the Ojo Sarco Piles Prescribed Fire: 

5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. 
Mon., Mar. 6, 2023 

Ojo Sarco Volunteer Fire Department 
2228 New Mexico Hwy 76 
Ojo Sarco, NM 87521 

Carson National Forest fire crews completed ignitions on the Willow Piles Prescribed Fire on Tuesday (Feb. 28). Piles of vegetation created from 67 acres of thinning are currently burning down as snow falls over the area to the east of Hopewell Lake. Piles from 350 acres of thinning were treated on Feb. 9. 

“I’m so proud of our fire personnel for safely completing this stage of the project,” said Angie Krall, acting district ranger for the West Zone, which includes the Tres Piedras Ranger District where this project is located. “The work is not done, however. We’re in it for the long haul as we fully enter the patrol and monitor stage.” 

The Willow Piles are located in an area where seasonal snowfall is so far 110 percent of normal, with an average of three to four feet on the ground. The snowpack mitigates the spread of the prescribed fire escaping during wind events. 

The amount of snow limited access for crews on Tuesday, leaving some piles targeted this winter untouched. Plans for those piles, representing 79 acres of thinning, will be added to burn plans in future seasons. 

Fire crews, however, will continue to patrol and monitor the site, with emphasis during and after snowmelt in the spring. Plans to use of a drone outfitted with infrared technology are in the works. 

Burning the Willow Piles is one small step in addressing the long-term forest health of Carson National Forest, which is part of the 3.8 million-acre Rio Chama Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Project in New Mexico and Colorado. The multistate project aims to improve and maintain water quality and watershed function and restore natural fire regimes using prescribed fire as one of the many tools across all lands in the project area. More prescribed fire is planned for the Willow Piles area and throughout the two-state project footprint on federal and non-federal lands.

U.S. Forest Service plans to begin prescribed burning on Savannah River Site

New Ellenton SC, December 15, 2022— USDA Forest Service - Savannah River plans to initiate prescribed fire operations in January 2023 as weather patterns shift to cooler temperatures and fuel conditions on the ground allow for safe resumption of activities. To learn about benefits of prescribed fire on communities and the environment visit https://www.fs.usda.gov/managing-land/prescribed-fire.

“The health and safety of the public and our firefighters is extremely important to us,” said U.S. Forest Service-Savannah River Assistant Manager for Fire Brandon Hughes. “Burns are conducted only when fuel and weather conditions on the ground align with anticipated weather conditions allowing firefighters to conduct them in a safe manner.”

Over the next several months, the public may see or smell fire and smoke in various areas surrounding the Savannah River Site from prescribed fire activities. Through careful planning and preparation, every effort is made to lessen the impact of smoke from prescribed fires. Smoke, however, is a natural byproduct of fire, and some amounts are unavoidable. Fire managers work with local air quality officials to ensure compliance with air quality regulations and required conditions prior to initiating any prescribed fire. Real-time air quality information for areas surrounding the Savannah River Site is available at https://map.purpleair.com/.

Follow us or visit us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/SavannahRiverFS for real time prescribed fire information. Questions regarding the prescribed fire program on Savannah River Site can be submitted at https://www.fs.usda.gov/contactus/savannahriver/about-forest/contacts. For additional information contact Josef Orosz, Public Affairs Specialist, USFS Savannah River at josef.orosz@usda.gov or (530) 440-9741.                                            

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Feb. 28, 2023, 11:25 AM - Update on BLM Southwest District Grandview area prescribed pile burning southeast of Durango, Colorado. Fire resources are reporting favorable conditions with adequate snow cover and winds 5 to 10 mph from the southwest to move smoke out.  

BLM Southwest District will conduct prescribed pile burning on the Tres Rios Field Office BLM-administered lands southeast of Durango, Colorado. If conditions are favorable, piles will be burned in the Grandview area located east and north of Highway 160 on February 28 and March 1, 2023. Pinyon pine and juniper slash piles are from fuels reduction project aimed to decrease wildfire risk, improve forest health, and enhance big game habitat.  

The number of piles burned per a day will be based on smoke dispersal conditions. Smoke maybe visible in the Durango area up to 72 hours after ignition operations.

For more information about prescribed fire smoke and health impacts, visit https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.

For BLM SWD RX Burn and Fire Information follow us on Twitter @SWD_Fire and Facebook http://www.facebook.com/BLMMontroseFireUnit.

The San Bernardino National Forest and the Mountain Rim FIRESAFE Council discuss efforts to reduce wildfire risk to communities and how working together, strategically, has proven successful in the past. Watch the video here. 

Safety, Protection, Mitigation: Partnering to Build FIRESAFE Communities on Vimeo

The planned pile burning operations on the Upper Lake Ranger District were suspended today and for the rest of the week due to weather.

The current storm system is causing high winds and snow at low elevations. There are concerns that the winds and wet weather will cause new downed trees or land slides impacting access to the burn project sites as well as making poor conditions for successful prescribed fire.

Conditions will be re-evaluated early next week for resumption of pile burning operations.