Wildland Fire

Smoke billowing high into the sky from a fire adjacent to the monument
The Mellen Fire, a lightning started fire, burned over 3000 acres on lands near the headquarters of Dinosaur National Monument in 2009.

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The National Park Service works to understand, maintain, restore, and protect the inherent integrity of the natural resources, processes, and values of the local ecosystem while providing meaningful and appropriate opportunities for the public to enjoy them. Inherent in this mission is management of fire on the landscape.

The Fire Management Program at Dinosaur National Monument manages wildfire and prescribed fire to maintain a natural vegetation mosaic while also protecting important natural, cultural, and paleontological resources. Wildfire management ranges from suppression to allowing it to burn for natural resource benefits. Fire operations are based on the Colorado side of the Monument, which experiences the majority of the fire activity.

 

Because Dinosaur National Monument is situated in both Colorado and Utah, the Fire Management Program works closely with the Uintah Basin Fire Center in Vernal, UT and works cooperatively with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the Forest Service (FS), the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and the State of Utah on an interagency basis.

In addition, Dinosaur assists a cluster of smaller parks on the Colorado Plateau in managing fire. These parks include Colorado National Monument, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and Curecanti National Recreation Area. The Dinosaur Fire Office provides them with some fire management oversight including prescribed fire, administrative support, and material resources.

Last updated: February 25, 2020

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Contact Info

Mailing Address:

4545 Hwy 40
Dinosaur, CO 81610

Phone:

435 781-7700

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