Management

The fire management program on the San Juan National Forest is a robust framework of wildfire response, fuels (vegetation) reduction, and post-fire recovery.

Firefighter and public safety are the top priority in the San Juan National Forest’s response to wildfire. Fire managers utilize a risk management approach to apply the appropriate response on every incident. On fires that go beyond initial attack (more than a day or so), an Incident Strategic Alignment Process is utilized to coordinate with partners and stakeholders to identify values at risk and the strategy to best protect those values. Fire Management applies the latest science and fire modeling to minimize risk to responders and locate areas of the highest probability of success to act on.

Fire is a natural part of the ecosystem on much of the San Juan National Forest. At the right time, location, and intensity, fire plays a key role in the health of these ecosystems. To that end, the fire program has a very active hazardous fuels reduction program. In 2024, the San Juan accomplished over 25,000 acres of hazardous fuels reduction. These acres were accomplished through prescribed fire, mechanical treatments, and utilizing natural ignitions.

Prescribed Fire and Fuels Reduction

The forests in Southwest Colorado are part of a fire-adapted ecosystem, which historically experienced frequent, low intensity fires on a large scale. Prescribed fire replicates that fire regime and increases the area on our landscape that has been burned at low and moderate conditions.

Reintroduction of prescribed fire is necessary to improve and restore vegetative conditions. This effort 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.

See our Smoke and Prescribed Fire flyer for information on prescribed fire smoke and health impacts.

Burn Area Emergency Response (BAER)

While many wildfires cause little damage to the land and pose few threats to fish, wildlife and people downstream, some fires create situations that require special efforts to prevent further problems after the fire. Loss of vegetation exposes soil to erosion; runoff may increase and cause flooding, sediments may move downstream and damage houses or fill reservoirs, and put endangered species and community water supplies at risk. The Forest Service Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) program addresses these situations on Forest Service lands with the goal of guarding the safety of Forest visitors and employees and protecting Federal property, water quality, and critical natural or cultural resources from further damage after the fire is out. Information collected by the Forest Service BAER teams is shared with other Federal, State and local emergency response agencies so they can provide assistance to communities and private land owners who may also be affected by potential post-fire damage.

BAER teams are staffed by specially trained professionals: hydrologists, soil scientists, engineers, biologists, vegetation specialists, archeologists, and others who rapidly evaluate the burned area and prescribe emergency stabilization treatments. A BAER assessment usually begins before the wildfire has been fully contained.

In most cases, only a portion of the burned area is actually treated. Severely burned areas, very steep slopes, places where water runoff will be excessive, fragile slopes above roads, trails, campgrounds, and other valuable facilities are focus areas. The treatments must be installed as soon as possible, generally before the next damaging storm. Time is critical if treatments are to be effective.

Differences between BAER Emergency Stabilization and Long Term Rehabilitation

BAER Emergency Stabilization	Long-term Rehabilitation
Install water or erosion control devices	Repair gullies formed by post-fire floods
Plant for erosion control or stability reasons	Replant commercial forests or grass for forage
Install erosion control measures at critical cultural sites	Excavate and interpret cultural sites
Install temporary barriers to protect treated or recovering areas	Replace burned pasture fences
Install warning signs and remove critical safety hazards	Install interpretive signs
Replace minor safety related facilities	Replace burned buildings, bridges, corrals
Install appropriate-sized drainage features on roads, trails	Repair roads damaged by floods after fire
Prevent permanent loss of threatened and endangered habitat	Replace burned wildlife habitat
Monitor BAER treatments	Monitor fire effects
Plant grass to prevent spread of noxious weeds	Treat pre-existing noxious weed infestations