The lightning-sparked 577 Fire 10 miles southeast of Bayfield was listed at 35 acres Saturday evening, burning at low-intensity and is being managed to improve the health of the forest – clearing dead trees, weak trees, overgrown undergrowth and built-up fuels.
“It’s been wet, and we’ve had rain and expect to have more rain,” said Kathy Russell, public information officer assigned to the 577 Fire, which started July 28 and is burning south of Pargin Mountain.
Russell said no homes are near the fire, but a few natural gas facilities are being protected and watched by firefighters.
Firefighters are using natural features, roads and trails to build containment lines, and will allow the fire to burn withing those lines, she said.
“In ponderosa forest, like we have here, the forest is adapted to benefit from low intensity fire every 20 years to 30 years, and this fire is burning at the perfect intensity. It’s being managed as a fire to help the forest,” she said.
Allowing low-intensity, naturally ignited fires like the 577 to burn will take out weak trees and provide more nutrients for healthy trees, clear overgrown underbrush that provides poor habitat for wildlife and reduce the build up of dried fuels, Russell said.
Currently, 92 firefighters, including support staff, are assigned to the fire, which is burning in areas where firefighters much hike to reach and is not passable for motorized engines, she said.
“These are what good fires look like” Russell said. “They prevent those destructive, massive fires we have seen in Colorado in dry years.”
parmijo@durangoherald.com
