The Columbine Ranger District started preliminary work on a controlled burn east of Bayfield on Saturday, and it is set to start burning Monday and Tuesday.
A column of smoke may be visible in Bayfield and as far away as Durango and Pagosa Springs.
On Monday morning, fire crews completed blacklining, which is when firefighters burn toward their fire line on the perimeter of the fire, said Ann Bond, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Forest Service office in Durango.
Firefighters will use a helicopter to aerially ignite the interior of the prescribed burn.
Up to 1,000 acres were to burn Monday, and 1,500 acres on Tuesday before a wet cold front is set to arrive later Tuesday, bringing a 60 percent chance of rain and thunderstorms.
“People are going to see a column of smoke, probably most visible from Highway 160,” including the Sauls Creek, Beaver Meadows and Lange Canyon areas, Bond said.
The smoke column is expected to loft high into the atmosphere, with smoke going north into the upper Piedra River drainage and south Hinsdale County, she said.
Monday evening’s smoke was likely to settle into the Beaver Creek and Sauls Creek drainages, and possibly toward the lower Piedra.
Tuesday’s rain forecast is ideal to clear the air after the burn, Bond said.
The burn is taking place in the Yellow Jacket area of the San Juan National Forest east of Bayfield.
Crews worked this summer to widen past control lines that had become overgrown to help safely keep burning operations within determined boundaries.
The fall burn will reduce the risk of high-intensity wildfires in the area and increase forage on big-game winter range.
The planned prescribed fire encompasses 2,539 acres within two burn units, which will be ignited and monitored by trained firefighters using both ground and aerial ignition methods.
Weather and fuel parameters stated in the prescribed fire plan will be followed. Daytime smoke is expected to be visible to the north and east into the Piedra River drainage.
Nighttime smoke is projected to settle in the Beaver and Sauls Creek drainages. Smoke will be heavier in the mornings after burning operations, and should lift by mid-day.
Ground crews at the site will include local firefighters, two hot-shot crews and five engines.
For more information, contact the Columbine Ranger District Office at 884-2512.
