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Burns scheduled north of Cortez

DENVER – Smoke may be seen from prescribed burns scheduled for Southwest Colorado this week.

The Bureau of Land Management’s Tres Rios Field Office said controlled burns may start as early as Wednesday at five locations – all about five miles east of Egnar on federal lands.

Above-normal precipitation, cooler temperatures and below-average fire danger have resulted in desirable conditions to conduct the prescribed burns, according to officials. The burns will target 262 acres of ponderosa pine and Gambel oak.

“The burn plan contains specific criteria regarding weather conditions and air quality that must be met to help ensure control of the burn as well as to minimize the potential smoke impacts to local communities,” said Brad Pietruszka, BLM fire-management specialist.

The planned burns are part of a larger project to reduce hazardous fuels; protect wildland-urban interface communities; and improve big game habitat, greater sage-grouse habitat and range conditions; as well as reintroduce fire to a fire-adapted ecosystem and help restore healthy forests and species diversity. Several units of the West Dolores Rim Project were successfully treated earlier in the year.

Each burn is anticipated to last one day, with an additional three days of monitoring to ensure public safety.

While smoke may be visible in the area at times during the burns, most of the smoke will lift and dissipate during the warmest parts of the day, officials said. Smoke may be visible in the area for several days after each burn is completed as vegetation in the interior of the burn continues to smolder.

pmarcus@durangoherald.com



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