ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (KDVR) — Park officials said prescribed slash burns are being conducted Thursday and Friday in the Moraine Park Campground and Lily Lake area.
Some visitors and residents nearby may see smoke and flames, officials said. But the operation is not conducted unless conditions are favorable and other factors are in place.
Prescribed burns are important for wildfire containment, officials explained. Previous and existing operations to remove bark beetle and other hazardous fuels helped firefighters battle the East Troublesome Fire in 2020.
“Prior hazard fuels projects aided considerably in stopping the fire from jumping Bear Lake Road and Trail Ridge Road. Years of hazardous fuels reduction projects and bark beetle tree removal on the west side were instrumental in the successful burnout operations around the town of Grand Lake and helped minimize structure loss in the main park housing area,” RMNP’s Kyle Patterson said.
The current slash is a compilation of fuels from the past two years that is now dry enough to burn.