Fall/Winter Slash Pile Burns Planned

Rio Grande National Forest announced today their winter slash pile burning plans. As conditions allow, fire crews plan to burn numerous piles of woody debris from timber sale and thinning project areas across the Rio Grande National Forest. This year’s pile burn areas include:

Saguache Ranger District

• Boogie Timber sale piles – 18 miles northwest of Saguache, CO
• Lower Park Timber sale piles – 13 miles west of Saguache, CO
• Spruce Stewardship 1 Timber sale piles – 13 miles southwest of Saguache, CO
• Spruce Stewardship 2 Timber sale piles – 20 miles southwest of Saguache, CO

Divide Ranger District

• River Hill hand pile – 17 miles southwest of Creed, CO
• East Bench Hand Piles- 2 Miles south of Creed, CO

Conejos Peak Ranger District

• Mix Lake Timber sale piles – ½ mile northwest of Platoro, CO
• Mogote Hand Piles – 1 mile west of Fox Creek, CO
• Rito Hondo Hand Piles – 11 miles west of Antonito, CO

Pile burning will begin when conditions are optimal to meet project objectives and to reduce the potential for fire to spread. Sufficient snow cover is a key component for many pile burns. Once a project is started, burning will continue on a day-to-day basis as long as conditions allow, or the projects have been completed. Slash pile areas and planned burn dates will be posted on the Rio Grande National Forest Facebook page as soon as those optimal conditions are projected, which can sometimes be on the same day the piles are ignited. Smoke from these pile burns may be visible for several days.

Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information see: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.

For more information on the slash pile burns, please contact Laura McConnell at 720-387-5859 for Public Information, or Jonathan McDuffey, Forest Fuels Specialist, at 509-630-8738.