WOODLAND PARK, Colo. (KOAA) — Fire managers from the Pikes Peak Rangers District are planning a 460-acre prescribed burn within the Rainbow Gulch area located west of Rampart Reservoir and west of Forest Service Road 300 in El Paso County.
The ranger district says that the burn will begin the week of September 22 and continue for two days, pending required approvals, resources, moisture levels and proper weather conditions.
The Rainbow Gulch project consists of 720 acres, and since 2021, fire managers and contractors have reduced fuels in three phases:
- fuels management treatments
- including mechanical and hand thinning
- prescribed fire
Phase one consisted of the mechanical removal of timber across 353 acres to thin the forest and prepare the area for prescribed burns.
Phase two removed 296 acres of remaining vegetation through hand piling, drying and burning.
Phase three, the current phase, will use prescribed burns to consume fuels across the forest. In Spring 2024, fire managers treated 260 acres with prescribed burns, and plan on treating the remaining 460 acres starting Monday.
Prescribed burns help the landscape by improving forest conditions, reducing the risk of destructive wildlife, and protecting municipal watersheds and surrounding communities.
Fire managers will also monitor the conditions leading up to the prescribed burns to determine if the conditions are favorable or not.
The ranger district doesn't anticipate any office closures, and forest visitors should remain vigilant regarding smoke and firefighter vehicle activity in the area.
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