Slash piles at the Little Dolores site burn in January, surrounded by enough snow to prevent the flames from spreading during the controlled burn. The burn was one of six planned through April by the BLM.
Around 13 miles southwest of Glade Park, numerous piles of cut branches and brush went up in smoke Jan. 27-28, the first of several planned slash pile burns in Mesa County by April, in an effort to destroy the fuel for future wildfires.
Bureau of Land Management Colorado Fuels Program Manager Jeremy Spetter said the exact schedule of remaining burns would depend upon hard-to-predict changes in rainfall and wind levels.
“We need enough precipitation — sometimes snow and sometimes a certain amount of rain — immediately prior to ignitions depending on the surrounding vegetation types,” he said in an email. “Precipitation gives us the ability to keep the fire burning in its own footprint … Smoke dispersal will also dictate the number of piles we can burn in a set amount of time.”
The latest pile burn, located at an area the BLM calls the Little Dolores site, was visible to no more than a few local landowners, according to Spetter.
Others on the to-do list, however, may get more attention. They include piles in Miller Canyon, closer to Glade Park; Dolores River near Gateway, Black Rock and Crow Bottom near the Colorado River south of Fruita; and piles in Farmer’s Canyon, which will be visible from part of U.S. Highway 50 between Grand Junction and Delta, Spetter said.
The BLM initially posted a timeline between November and April for the burns, which are generally planned 6-12 months in advance to give slash piles enough time to dry out. But limited rain and snow in the area has held back the agency’s plans.
“We haven’t burned piles in other planned units because of insufficient conditions,” Spetter wrote. “Prescription parameters (listed in the burn plan) and weather will dictate which piles we will burn next … The piles that have been burned to date have experienced no adverse issues.”
The burns offer a handful of positives for Mesa County, officials said.
For one, they “are one of our most effective tools to help slow wildfires and protect landscapes” according to a statement from Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Officer Tommy Hayes, who added, “We’ve seen less fire spread, and intensity, in areas where we did this proactive work.”
Spetter added that the activity helped alleviate pressure from invasive species in the area.
BLM press releases say this year’s burn piles on the Western Slope contained Russian Olive and tamarisk — which the Colorado Department of Agriculture classifies as “noxious weeds” — as well as native shrubs.
“Some projects focus on thinning various tree species … Other projects include removing invasive plants, such as tamarisk, along river corridors’ and piling the material,” Spetter wrote. “Then the slash material that is created from the thinning is piled and allowed to dry and burn during the winter months.”
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