Fire managers on the Pikes Peak Ranger District prepare for Rainbow Gulch prescribed fire treatment

PUEBLO, Colo., Sept. 19, 2025 — Fire managers from the Pikes Peak Ranger District will begin treating 460 acres with prescribed fire within the Rainbow Gulch project area next week, pending all required approvals. Fire managers expect this work to begin the week of September 22 and continue for two days, as fuel, weather and air quality conditions allow. The project area is located directly west of Rampart Reservoir and directly west of Forest Service Road 300 in El Paso County. 

The Rainbow Gulch project spans an area of 720 acres. Since 2021, fire managers and contractors have reduced hazardous fuels in three phases using a combination of fuels management treatments, including mechanical and hand thinning and prescribed fire. The first phase of the project involved the mechanical removal of timber across 353 acres to thin the forest and prepare the area for prescribed fire treatments. In the second phase, after the removal of timber for commercial and personal use, 296 acres of remaining vegetation were hand piled, dried and burned. Phase three will involve prescribed broadcast fires, which include applying fire to consume fuel across the forest floor. Last spring, fire managers treated 260 acres with prescribed fire, and they plan to treat the remaining 460 acres next week.

Prescribed fires are the managed application of fire to the landscape under specified weather and fuels conditions to improve forest conditions, provide diverse habitats for plants and animals and reduce the risk of destructive wildfire to municipal watersheds and communities in the area.

Fire managers develop prescribed fire plans before prescribed fire projects start. The plan details the parameters or “prescription” that fire managers must meet before implementation. The final decision to implement depends on leadership approval, resource availability and favorable conditions, including fuel moisture levels, air quality and weather forecast. 

Fire managers prepare the area and monitor conditions leading up to and during implementation and may postpone or cancel the prescribed fire if conditions are unfavorable.

Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information, visit Wood smoke and your health, or go to the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map to find more detailed information about air quality. 

While official area closures are not anticipated, forest visitors should exercise caution regarding smoke and firefighter vehicle activity while in the area.

Stay informed about the upcoming prescribed fires and receive updates during prescribed fire days through the forest website and social media channels. Forest Service officials will notify county emergency management officials when prescribed fire operations begin.

About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology–and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the United States, of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.

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