Smoke from Boggy Draw prescribed fire impacts Rico, Highway 145

Smoke from the Boggy Draw prescribed fire was pushing from southwest to northeast and sending a visible plume into Rico along Highway 145, where the haze was most noticeable for residents, commuters and visitors in Dolores County.

The burn covers 4,107 acres just 4 to 8 miles northeast of Dolores in Montezuma County, along NFSR 526 and 527. Smaller units of the project can be ignited as weather and conditions allow, using ground ignitions and possibly drones. The burn is meant to reduce fuel for future fires.

Rico is one of the county’s most isolated communities, and Highway 145 is a key route for residents, workers and tourists moving through eastern Dolores County. People with asthma, heart problems or other breathing sensitivities are the most likely to feel the effects first, along with anyone working outdoors in the plume path. Smoke from wildland fire can degrade air quality and can cause eye and respiratory irritation, while also worsening asthma and heart failure, according to the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Smoke from prescribed-fire work in the Dolores Ranger District can be visible around Mancos, Dolores, Dove Creek, Cortez and Highway 491 between Dove Creek and Pleasant View, with smoke settling into the Dolores River Canyon and other low-lying valleys overnight. In April 2024, the Boggy Draw Trailhead and portions of the trail system were temporarily closed for public and firefighter safety during prescribed-fire operations.

The Boggy Draw trail system spans more than 75 miles outside Dolores and draws both locals and tourists. The burns are part of broader forest-health work as bark beetle activity has reached epidemic levels on the west end of the Dolores Ranger District and increased in Boggy Draw in 2024 compared with earlier flight data. In 2024, crews burned more than 1,100 acres in three Boggy Draw units, including Little Bean Canyon, and smoke could keep rising from the burn units for weeks, according to the Forest Service. A 2019 burn in the House Creek area, identified as Boggy Draw Unit 35, covered 2,096 acres and was completed in one day to limit smoke impacts.