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CAÑON CITY, Colo - The Bureau of Land Management-Front Range Fire and Aviation Management Unit is preparing to conduct pile burns in ten locations this fall and winter. Pile burns will occur between October 30, 2019 and March 2020, depending on favorable weather and fuel moisture conditions. 

The objective of the pile burns is to remove the slash left behind from timber harvests and previous fuels-thinning treatments. These timber harvests and fuels treatments remove beetle-killed timber and other fuels, reducing the risk of future catastrophic wildfire. Fuels treatments also help create various stages of plant succession, which is critical to the health of fire-adapted ecosystems. The pile burn locations are as follows:

• Dawson Ranch – 50 piles. Piles are hand-built, consisting of Piñon pine and juniper trees. The piles are located on BLM land immediately west of Dawson Ranch subdivision and 2.5 miles southwest of Cañon City, Colo. Legal Location: T19S / R71W / S 13.
• Hole in the Rock – 2,400 piles. Piles are hand-built and the surrounding fuel type is Ponderosa pine, Piñon pine, juniper and Gambel oak. The burn is located north of Cañon City off Fremont County Road 11 and east of the High Park Subdivision. Legal Location: T16S / R70W / S 7.
• Likely Gulch – 2,000 piles. Piles are hand-built and the surrounding fuel type is Piñon pine, juniper and Ponderosa pine. The burn is located south of Texas Creek off CO Highway 69 and Road Gulch. Legal Location: T20S / R73W / S 5, 6.
• Mt. Harvard Estates – 1,250 piles. Piles are hand-built from Piñon pine limbs, and the surrounding fuels are Piñon pine, juniper and grass. The burn is located 5.5 miles North of Buena Vista, CO, 0.5 mile East of US HW 24, and immediately North and East of the Mt. Harvard Estates subdivision. Legal Location: T13S / R79W / S 13.
• Tyndall – 3 piles. Piles are machine piles and have a surrounding fuel type of Ponderosa pine and grass. The burn is located 3 miles north of Rosita, 7.5 miles east of Westcliffe and south of CO Highway 96, near Mount Tyndall. Legal Location: T22S / R71W / S 16.
• Pinyon Mountain – 447 piles. Piles are hand-built piles consisting of Piñon pine, juniper, Ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir. The burn is located directly south of the Acres of Ireland subdivision, 0.75 mile south of US HW 50, and 1.5 miles south of Howard, CO. Legal Location: T48N / R10E / S 10, 11, 15.
• Whiskey – 3,000 piles. Piles are large hand-built piles and the surrounding fuel type is Ponderosa pine, Piñon pine, juniper and grass. The burn is located 6.5 miles southwest of Cripple Creek, south of Fremont County Road 11 and west of the High Park Subdivision. Legal Location: T16S / R71W / S 8, 9.
• Kerr Gulch – 251 piles. Piles are hand-built, consisting of Piñon Pine, Juniper, Ponderosa Pine, and Douglas fir. The burn is located 1.5 miles west of US Hwy 50, 3 miles northwest of Coaldale, CO. Legal Location: T49N / R10E / S 24.
• Thompson Mountain – 35 piles. Piles are machine-built piles with a surrounding fuel type of Ponderosa pine, Piñon pine, juniper, and Gambel oak. The burn is located 13 miles northwest of Cañon City, 2 miles east of CO Highway 9, and in the Deer Haven area near Thompson Mountain. Legal Location: T17S / R71W / S 6.
• Mount Shavano – 2,000 piles. Piles hand-built, consisting of Piñon pine, juniper, Ponderosa pine, and Douglas fir. The burn in located 3.5 miles north US HW 50, 3.5 miles west of US HW 285, and 5.5 miles northwest of Poncha Springs, CO. Legal Location: T50N / R7E / S 24.

Smoke may be visible in the area both during and after the burn operations. Smoke will be most visible during the warmest part of the day. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may linger and accumulate in low-lying areas. Fire managers have developed a detailed prescribed fire plan and have obtained smoke permits from the State of Colorado for the planned burn.

Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information, please visit the Colorado Air Pollution Control Division’s website: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.

For additional information, contact Matt Norden, Fire Operations Specialist, (719) 269-8583, or John Markalunas, Deputy Fire Management Officer, (719) 257-8785, at the BLM Front Range Fire and Aviation Management Unit.