News Release

Rocky Mountain National Park Announces 2019 - 2020 Winter Pile Burning Operations

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News Release Date: October 31, 2019
Contact: Kyle Patterson, Public Affairs Officer, [phone]
Contact: Park Information, [phone]

Fire managers from Rocky Mountain National Park plan to take advantage of any upcoming wet or winter weather conditions to burn piles of slash generated from several fuels reduction projects and hazard tree removals. Slash from these projects has been cut and piled by park fire crews and contractors during the last two years and are now dry enough to burn.

When fighting the Fern Lake Fire in 2012, firefighters were able to take advantage of previous and existing prescribed fire and hazardous fuels treatment areas that provided a buffer between the fire and the town of Estes Park. Prior hazard fuels projects were instrumental in stopping the fire from jumping Bear Lake Road.

Pile burning operations will only begin when conditions allow. The piles are in a variety of locations including near the Bierstadt Lake Trailhead, near the Moraine Park Discovery Center, south and west of Glacier Basin Campground, and near the Moraine Park Campground.

The fuels reduction projects are designed to reduce significant accumulations of forest fuels that can generate extreme or problematic fire behavior adjacent to urban interface. By reducing the potential fire behavior the wildland fire risk to firefighters and the public is significantly reduced. However, these projects are not designed as a stand-alone defense against wildfires nor are they guaranteed to hold a wildfire in the worst of conditions. Please do your part and complete wildfire mitigation on your property. To learn more about wildfire mitigation around your home visit www.firewise.org

Safety factors, weather conditions, air quality and other environmental regulations are continually monitored as a part of any fire management operation. Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information see https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.

For questions about this project or information about Rocky Mountain National Park please call the park’s Information Office at [phone] or visit www.nps.gov/romo
 

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