Boulder County officials are warning residents that a proposed prescribed burn near Lyons today could result in heavy smoke in the air that could affect health.
Boulder County Parks & Open Space and the Sheriff’s Office Fire Management Program plan the prescribed burn west of Lyons at Hall Ranch, weather permitting. Hall Ranch will be closed all day today and will reopen at sunrise Nov. 10, according to a Boulder County news release.
Fire crews plan to blackline 20-40 acres in the Nelson Loop project area in preparation for a larger scale burn planned for the same area in the winter of 2022. Blacklining is a firefighting tactic that preburns fuel adjacent to containment lines such as roads and trails, the news release states.
Fire managers will consider wind, temperature, relative humidity and air quality to determine if the burn will go off as planned today, the news release states. Fire personnel will stop burning if weather conditions change and do not allow for a safe operation, or the situation becomes unsafe. Weather and safety conditions are monitored constantly, the news release states.
Smoke and flames may be visible for days to weeks following a prescribed burn. There may be heavy smoke in the air, the news release states. Fire managers ask residents not to call 911 since a prescribed burn is not an emergency. The areas will be monitored to ensure fires are completely out, the news release states.
Smoke from prescribed burns may affect health, according to the news release. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment Wood Smoke and Health website and the Boulder County Public Health Wildfire Air Quality & Health website provide tips on how to protect health from smoke.
For more information, call Boulder County Parks & Open Space Senior Forester Stefan Reinold at 303-678-6202 or [email protected]. Updates will be posted at www.BoulderCountyOpenSpace.org/burns.
