FAIRPLAY, Colo., April 14, 2008 – The South Park Ranger District of the Pike National Forest is preparing for their spring prescribed burning in the Sledgehammer East Project near Lake George. The project is in the Blue Mountain, Sledgehammer Gulch, and Wagon Tongue Gulch area, which is southwest of Lake George, south of Elevenmile Canyon, and east of Elevenmile Reservoir.

The prescribed burning is anticipated to occur over the next six weeks. Ignition can take place only when weather and fuel conditions are such that the prescribed fire will burn at a low to moderate intensity and smoke impacts to surrounding communities are minimized, and meet all the conditions of a detailed burn plan. If burning does take place, it may last from one to several days, with smoke visible from Highway 24 and other areas during actual burning days, as well as several days after ignitions are completed.

If conditions allow, the District plans to treat 1,500 acres this spring. Vegetation types are mostly ponderosa pine, grass and shrubs. Burning will generally be of low intensity, and is designed to reduce the amount of timber needles, duff and small diameter woody debris, as well as improve soil nutrients and re-sprout grass and shrubs for wildlife. In limited areas of denser, smaller diameter timber, fire behavior is expected to be active enough to achieve some natural thinning of conifers. This will minimize competition for water and nutrients, allowing remaining trees to increase in growth and improve their ability to defend against pests and infestation.

The Sledgehammer East Prescribed Burn is part of the Sledgehammer Ecosystem Management Project, a multi-year undertaking whose goal is to restore more open conifer stands to the area, increasing the amount of grass, shrubs and aspen, and reducing dead fuel loading on the forest floor. Historically, lightning-caused fires and Native American burning maintained this preferred condition, but fire suppression and other activities since the turn of the century have led to overstocking of pine and Douglas-fir and a reduction of plant diversity. This, in turn, has adversely impacted wildlife and increased the occurrence of large, high-intensity destructive wildfires. It is no longer feasible to let lightning-caused fires burn in most areas, so fuels treatments, using mechanical means, fire, or both, are the most viable way of restoring forest health and reducing the wildfire threat to land and home owners.