PRESCRIBED FIRES

WHY ARE WE BURNING?
There is growing potential for large destructive wildfires in Mesa Verde National Park due to increased fuel loadings and recent drought conditions, posing threats to the park’s infrastructure and human safety. To reduce these threats in the future, Mesa Verde National Park has implemented Prescribed Fires.

BURN OBJECTIVES AND GOALS
Restore the natural role of fire into the mountain shrub ecosystem.
Reduce probability of destructive fires in developed areas by reducing fuel loadings.
Reduce stand density, especially of oaks.
Improve wildlife habitat and promote the release of nutrients back into the soil.

FIRE MONITORING
It is necessary to monitor prescribed burns to make sure the burning operation stays within prescription and to detect any changes in weather which could affect fire behavior in such a way as to endanger human safety. At least one qualified Fire Monitor is assigned to each burn, observing and tracking changes in weather, fire behavior and smoke production.

Weather: wind speed and direction, air temperature, relative humidity, and fine fuel moisture.
Fire Behavior: spread direction, rate of spread, flame length, flame zone depth, percent shading, and percent slope.
Smoke: plume height and direction, plume type, smoke color, highway and fireline visibility, and impacts to sensitive areas.

FAR VIEW
In the shrublands of the Far View area, mechanical thinning of growth is not as economical as prescribed fire. Prescribed fire is used to reduce fuel loadings and provide a buffer against wildfires in that area. Click here to see recent Prescribed Fire activities for Far View area.