Prescribed burns in Pingree Hill and Red Feather will be likely today

Conditions were too wet last week to burn, so fire managers hope to begin burning Oct. 17 if conditions allow.

Red Feather Prescribed Burn: Located north of Red Feather Lakes; east of the Crystal Lakes Subdivision.

Last spring 1,513 acres of the total 4,348-acre project was successfully burned.

The two burn units targeted for this fall are 707 acres and 2,027 acres.

Detailed information: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5027/

Pingree Hill Prescribed Burn: Located north of Highway 14, east of Rustic.

Over 500 acres of this 2,027 acre burn took place between 2014 and 2016.

Appropriate conditions must be met before ignition of prescribed burns can take place. Fire managers are carefully monitoring these conditions, including a favorable weather forecast (temperature, wind, precipitation, etc.), fuel moisture, smoke dispersal and staffing. Weather is monitored throughout the burn and burning will be halted if conditions fall outside of the required conditions.

In ideal conditions, as many as 500 acres could be burned in one day on either of these burns. The goal of the burns is to reduce hazardous fuels and improve wildlife habitat. Work has already taken place within these project areas to help ensure the burn stays within its identified perimeter. The burns will be staffed appropriately with up to 30 firefighters, often including local agencies and volunteer fire departments. Staffing requirements vary by project.

The Forest Service notifies local cooperators about these activities before and throughout implementation, as well as the interested public. Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information see https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health. To check the latest updates on when this burn will occur, check our recorded incident information line at 970-498-1030 or follow us on Twitter @usfsclrd. To get added to the email notification list, send an email to rcloudman@fs.fed.us and identify which prescribed burn you are interested in.

If you have specific questions related to this prescribed burn, please contact Reghan Cloudman at 970-295-6770.

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