Prescribed Burns Will Clear Dry Debris Around Mesa County

The Bureau of Land Management plans to burn off slash piles.

This winter is you see smoke it's not necessarily a bad thing. The BLM announced they have numerous prescribed burns scheduled now through March. Not sure what a "slash pile" is? It's basically a brush pile. They're limbs and brush from the BLM's thinning of mountain plants and brush to help reduces the wildfire risk. There are hundreds of these piles are scattered throughout the region.

The piles have dried out well enough to start setting them on fire. We wanted to pass along the information. Everyone's a bit nervous when it comes to fires. I mean, 2018 was a record-setting season for Colorado wildfires.

When these controlled burns take place the BLM says the smoke may be visible in Mesa County and the Grand Valley. So this winter when you see smoke it's likely a slash pile burn and not a wildfire.

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A reminder too, even though most of these fires will be relativity small the BLM says they could cause health issues for persons sensitive to smoke or have respiratory problems.

https://youtu.be/Q1eEn4a8TLE

There are 75 piles slated for burning in the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, and another 800 piles inside the Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area.

Credit: WesternSlope Now