A bridge that was damaged in last year’s 416 Fire was scheduled to be removed Tuesday by helicopter, the U.S. Forest Service announced Monday.

The South Fork Trail Bridge was damaged when the fire burned the east abutment, causing the bridge to fall into Hermosa Creek, creating a safety and flood hazard, the Forest Service said in a news release.

The trail bridge previously accessed the South Fork Trail, though the trail was closed several years ago because of landslides and sloughing that made the trail impassable.

The Forest Service planned to use a contracted helicopter and local fire crews to remove the bridge, the agency said.

The helicopter was to take the structure to a closed roadbed where it would be fully dismantled and removed at a later date.

The 416 Fire broke out June 1, 2018, and burned an estimated 54,000 acres, mostly on San Juan National Forest lands in the Hermosa Creek drainage.

jromeo@durangoherald.com