Firefighters are beginning mop-up operations on the Dry Lake fire, which continues to smolder east of Bayfield.
A lightning strike started the fire on July 30 inside of an area that was treated with a prescribed burn in 2019. The fire is 47% contained as of Monday afternoon.
The fire lines used to contain the previous burn – trails and roads – remain intact.
“It was a great opportunity and we knew it right away,” said San Juan National Forest Spokeswoman Lorena Williams.
Firefighters performed blacklining operations using drip torches to remove fuels and strengthen the existing lines. The technique is known as indirect containment.
Rather than build lines around where the fire is burning to prevent it from spreading, firefighters can allow the fire to spread while bolstering more distant fuel breaks. As the fire spreads, it consumes fuels on the landscape that could contribute to an uncontrollably large fire in the future.
The fire grew from a quarter acre to 300 acres by Saturday, then reached nearly 1,400 acres by Monday.
Firefighters were also able to reduce the fuel around a Tri-State Generation and Transmission line running near the fire. The line supplies power to all of Pagosa Springs, and reducing the fuel around it is critical to prevent it from being damaged in the event of a catastrophic wildfire.
The agency now has a higher tolerance for letting small fires burn, thus reducing the abundance of fuel. The natural role of fire in preventing disaster-sized wildfires is something many Indigenous land stewards have known for millennia.
Indirect containment is in line with a strategy adopted by the Forest Service in 2022 to address the wildfire crisis across the country.
Williams said the technique applied on the Dry Lake fire is an example for the entire region.
Smoke is likely to remain visible to travelers on U.S. Highway 160 between Bayfield and Pagosa Springs throughout the week as activity decreases. The public is strongly advised to avoid First Notch Trail (No. 710) and First Notch Connector Trail (No. 711).
rschafir@durangoherald.com
