This week firefighters will be operating the air curtain burner at the Chico Seed Orchard. A curtain burner can consume woody debris, brush and small logs in a self-contained incinerator that has reduced emissions and smoke. Firefighters are planning to complete up to 10 acres of fuels reduction using the curtain burner, pending favorable weather conditions. All prescribed fire operations are carefully monitored, and firefighters will conduct patrols following burning operations. 

All lines held  overnight after crews successfully treated 300 acres yesterday. Smoke will continue to be visible in the area today. Fire crews are continuing to work in the area, patrolling the project and ensuring a secure perimeter. In the interest of public and firefighter safety, a forest closure remains in effect for the area. 

Smoke will be visible in the Red Feather Lakes and Northern Front Range communities. Fire managers work closely with experts to minimize the impacts of smoke. Air quality is carefully monitored before and during a prescribed fire and all prescribed burns comply with state air quality regulations to minimize impacts to communities. To learn more about the potential health impacts of smoke visit www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.

Fire managers will continue to monitor local conditions. Email notifications will be sent out periodically with status updates. To receive these updates, make sure to join our email list. Additional information can be found here on InciWeb.

Fire officials on the Lolo National Forest may implement prescribed fire operations today, as weather and fuels conditions allow. 

Missoula Ranger District: Firefighters will burn up to 34 acres in the Grant Creek project area, northwest of Missoula between Butler and La Valle Creek.  Smoke may be visible from Interstate 90 in the Grant Creek area. The project objectives are to maintain and improve forest healthy, and reduce the risk of damage from insect and disease while maintaining a natural appearing landscape. 

Superior Ranger District: Firefighters will burn up to 60 acres in the Second Chance project area, 4.5 miles north of Lozeau in the Second Creek drainage.  Smoke may be visible from Interstate 90 in the Lozeau area. Firefighters will be utilizing aerial ignitions. The objective of this prescribed burn is to reduce hazardous fuels created by previous management operations in the Scound Chance Timber Sale and to provide planting access. 

Plains/Thompson Falls Ranger District: Firefighters plan to conduct up to 50 acres of understory burning on the Clear Creek units 7 miles west of Thompson Falls.  Minimal smoke impacts are anticipated; however, smoke may be visible from Thompson Falls. 

Fire officials on the Lolo National Forest may implement prescribed fire operations today, as weather and fuels conditions allow. 

Superior Ranger District: Firefighters will burn up to 10 acres in the Second Chance Creek project area, 4.5 miles north of Lozeau in the Second Creek drainage.  Smoke may be visible from Interstate 90 in the Lozeau area.

Fire crews have completed a test fire and verified that conditions are good for prescribed fire ignitions today, Monday, April 14, for the Magic Feather prescribed burn area. Over the weekend, firefighters continued to patrol and work in the area, ensuring perimeters remained secure and monitoring local conditions. In the interest of public and firefighter safety, a forest closure remains in effect for the area.

Smoke may be visible in the Red Feather Lakes and Northern Front Range communities. Fire managers work closely with experts to minimize the impacts of smoke. Air quality is carefully monitored before and during a prescribed fire and all prescribed burns comply with state air quality regulations to minimize impacts to communities. To learn more about the potential health impacts of smoke visit www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.

Additional email notifications will be sent out periodically during ignition periods. To receive updates, make sure to join our email list. Additional information can be found here on InciWeb.

Based upon the potential for favorable weather and conditions, fire managers at Rocky Mountain National Park are planning to conduct a prescribed burn on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. Firefighters plan to burn approximately 60 acres of the 334-acre Headquarters Unit. This burn unit is located inside Rocky Mountain National Park, west of Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and south of U.S. Highway 36. Because of the fuel type that will be burned, which includes mainly grasses and small shrubs, heavy and prolonged smoke is not expected from this operation.

Due to the proximity of burn operations near the road, U.S. Highway 36 inside Rocky Mountain National Park will be temporarily closed from just west of Beaver Meadows Visitor Center to the Beaver Meadows Entrance between the hours of 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. During this time, visitors will need to enter and exit the park through the Fall River Entrance on US 34.

Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, RMNP’s Wilderness Office and the Rocky Mountain Conservancy Nature Store, located inside the visitor center, will be open as regularly scheduled.

The primary goal of the project is to reduce the threat of wildland fire to adjacent communities and NPS infrastructure by using prescribed fire to reduce the amount of fuels available in this area. When fighting the East Troublesome Fire in 2020 and 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 and Trail Ridge Road.

If conditions are favorable, ignitions are planned to occur on Tuesday, April 15. Firefighters will be on scene for the duration of the operation and will be patrolling the burned area. Smoke from the prescribed burn will be visible throughout the day of the burn, mostly during the warmest part of the day. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may linger and accumulate in low-lying areas.

Additional information will be shared on InciWeb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/cormp-front-country-prescribed-fire, on www.nps.gov/romo and on Rocky Mountain National Park’s official social media channels. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and X @RockyNPS.

Smoke may be visible both inside and outside the park.  Every effort will be made to minimize smoke impacts on visitors and the adjacent community; however, some smoke is anticipated to disperse east of the park.  Smoke may affect your health: For more information see https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health. No trail or road closures are anticipated but visitors passing through active burning areas may be escorted by fire personnel to ensure their safety.

Safety factors, weather conditions, air quality, personnel availability and environmental regulations are continually monitored as a part of any fire management operation.  For more information, please contact the park’s Information Office at (970) 586-1206.

-NPS-
 

Ignitions have completed for the day after successfully treating 300 acres at the Magic Feather prescribed burn project. Fire crews will continue to work in the area, patrolling the project and ensuring a secure perimeter. In the interest of public and firefighter safety, a forest closure remains in effect for the area.

Smoke may continue to be visible in the Red Feather Lakes and Northern Front Range communities. Fire managers work closely with experts to minimize the impacts of smoke. Air quality is carefully monitored before and during a prescribed fire and all prescribed burns comply with state air quality regulations to minimize impacts to communities. To learn more about the potential health impacts of smoke visit www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.

Fire managers will continue to monitor local conditions. Email notifications will be sent out periodically for additional ignition periods. To receive these updates, make sure to join our email list. Additional information can be found here on InciWeb.