LAKE GEORGE…Area residents may see smoke from a prescribed burn in the skies south of Lake George beginning as early as Monday, March 29. The U.S. Forest Service-Pike National Forest will begin a 1000-acre prescribed burn in the Blue Mountain area to reduce hazardous forest fuels on the South Park Ranger District. This week’s planned Sledgehammer East prescribed burn will take place in Park County approximately four miles south of Lake George, west of County Road 61 and north of County Road 98 and south/southeast of Elevenmile Canyon.

This low-intensity burn is designed to eliminate many of the smaller, ladder and ground fuels that enable flames to climb into the crowns of larger trees and develop into large, high-intensity catastrophic wildfires, such as those experienced during last year’s destructive wildfire season. The Sledgehammer East burn area consists of a variety of vegetation types, including ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, mountain mahogany and various grasses. Mechanical thinning and pile burning were completed on this unit in 2002 in preparation for this prescription broadcast burning.

While the prescribed burn possibly will begin Monday, fire managers will make the final assessment when weather and fuel conditions are such that the fire will be of low intensity and smoke impacts to surrounding communities are minimized and meet all the conditions of a detailed burn plan. Firefighter and public safety remain the top priority.

The Sledgehammer East Prescribed Burn is part of the 12,000-acre Sledgehammer Ecosystem Management Project, a multi-year undertaking whose goal is to restore more open conifer stands to the area, increasing the amount of grasses, shrubs and aspen, and reducing the amount of dead fuel 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 incidence of large, high-intensity destructive wildfires.