Prescribed Burns Return to San Juan National Forest Near Bayfield

Three broadcast burn units covering 255 acres at Sauls Creek, northeast of Bayfield and south of U.S. Highway 160, saw fire last weekend as the Forest Service revived large-scale prescribed burning in the San Juan National Forest.

Lorena Williams, a Forest Service spokeswoman, said firefighters worked one unit of roughly 100 acres on Saturday before returning Sunday to ignite two additional units totaling 155 acres. The combined acreage spans ponderosa pine and Gamble oak stands that first received prescribed fire in 2014.

Sarah Beck, Acting District Ranger for the San Juan National Forest, notified residents near the Deer Valley subdivision, which sits adjacent to the burn area, ahead of operations. Crews stationed public affairs staff and informational boards near the subdivision to address questions from the public during ignitions.

Smoke from the operation spread across a wide corridor in Southwest Colorado, visible from south Durango, Arboles, Bayfield, Pagosa Springs, and along the U.S. Highway 160 and 151 corridors. Daytime smoke lofted high into the atmosphere and tracked north and northeast, with heavier concentrations settling into valley drainages overnight.

Dan Nauman, a firefighter with the Pagosa Ranger District, was among the crew members on the ground at Sauls Creek alongside personnel from partner agencies.

Southwest Colorado's forests sit within a fire-adapted ecosystem that historically burned at low to moderate intensity on a regular basis. Suppression over the past century has allowed fuels to accumulate far beyond historic norms, raising the stakes each time conditions turn dry. The Sauls Creek operation reduces that accumulated load before a wildfire does it without managed conditions or firefighters standing by.