Firefighters plan spring prescribed fires

Fire is as much a part of the natural ecosystem in western Colorado as the wildlife and the trees. Our forest and brush species in western Colorado are adapted and benefit from some level of wildfire.

Every spring and fall the White River National Forest and Bureau of Land Management, working cooperatively as the Upper Colorado Interagency Fire Management Unit, carefully plan prescribed fires to reap these natural and necessary benefits of fire, which include improving forest health and wildlife habitat, and creating natural fire breaks that help manage larger, unwanted wildfires that can threaten communities or burn too intensely.  

Prescribed fires could be ignited at the lower elevations as early as the end of the month. We’ll only ignite them if conditions are good for a safe, effective burn, and for smoke to disperse. The list of potential burns is below, and we’ll get word out ahead of any specific burn. A map of the planned burns on Forest Service land is here.

• Avalanche Creek/Filoha Prescribed Fire, Aspen-Sopris Ranger District (Pitkin County): Seven miles south of Carbondale, up to 400 acres.

• Braderich Creek Prescribed Fire, Aspen-Sopris Ranger District (Pitkin County): one mile west of Redstone, up to 1,500 acres.

• Muddy Sheep Prescribed Fire, Eagle Holy Cross Ranger District (Eagle County): five miles north of Edwards, up to 375 acres.

• Cottonwood Creek Prescribed Fire, BLM Colorado River Valley Field Office (Eagle County): four miles north of Eagle, up to 460 acres

• Shooting Ranger Prescribed Fire, Dillon Ranger District (Summit County): above the Summit County Shooting Range, 44 acres

• Farmers Canyon Prescribed Fire, BLM Grand Junction Field Office (Mesa County): 18 miles south of Grand Junction, up to 50 acres.

• Aldrich Lakes Prescribed Fire, Blanco Ranger District (Rio Blanco County): 14 miles northeast of Meeker, up to 1,500 acres