On the Trail (in memory of Tim Watkins) – Prescribed burn promotes forest health

By Steve Pate

The Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC) Pikes Peak Ranger District, with support from local fire, police, and emergency responders, began a three-day process of prescribed burns in the Monument Preserve on June 12.

**Above**: Test fire before the prescribed burn *Photo by Steve Pate.*

A “test fire” was lit just north of Mount Herman Road. A test fire is a small fire that firefighters light to evaluate fire behavior before igniting prescribed fires. The conditions were deemed ideal and prescribed burns were conducted in three areas of the Monument Fire Center in the Monument Preserve: Memorial Grove, Monument Rock, and the Mount Herman Trailhead. The prescribed fires treated about 1,000 acres of forest lands with low-intensity fire to limit the impact of smoke to the community.

**Above**: View of the prescribed burn from Woodmoor. *Photo by Dawn Lervik.*

The prescribed fire, a low-to-moderate-intensity burn, reduced available fuels and the risk of catastrophic fire in the wildland-urban interface (WUI) when fire suppression efforts would be less likely to succeed. Additional objectives of this prescribed fire were to reduce the amount of Gambel oak brush and promote the growth of ponderosa pine forest.

**Above**: View from Jackson Creek. *Photo by Natalie Barszcz.*

During a press briefing before the test fire, Dawn Sanchez, fire prevention technician with the PSICC, said 149 wildland firefighters were also being briefed on procedures for the upcoming test fire and prescribed burns. Sanchez explained how the low-intensity fires would stunt the regrowth of scrub oak in areas where the Forest Service conducted wildfire mitigation last year.

**Above**: Results near Monument Rock. *Photo by Steve Pate*

While some may become upset with smoke and the immediate after-effects of prescribed burns, Randy Phillips of the local hiking community who has lived adjacent to Pike National Forest for nearly four decades said the Berry Fire that roared through this area below and up Mount Herman, leaving only scrub oak in place of what was a thick and deep forest, is a major reason the Forest Service has masticated the area and are now prescribing a burn. “I get nervous … however, that nervousness pales to experiencing April 21, 1989, and the days that followed. It’s important to keep things in perspective,” Phillips said.

**Above**: The burn reduced surface fuel loads by reducing pine needles, leaves, and small branches, decreasing the risk of catastrophic wildfires. *Photo by Chris Jeub.*

As was the case last year when PSICC did wildfire mitigation over a wide area in Monument Preserve, the hiking and biking trails in the area appeared “ruined,” but this year were nearly recovered with new growth. The same will be true of the prescribed burns—ugly for a few weeks or months but healthier as the areas recover and again a pleasure to hike or ride in.

**Right:** Wildland firefighters protected a Ute “prayer tree” in the Monument Preserve. Photo by Steve Pate.

Steve Pate may be reached at StevePate@OCN.me

Other On The Trail articles