Fighting wildfires is so often described in the language of war.
Crews react to changing conditions, stopping fire by removing ground fuels, such as oak and vegetation, and where a dozen or more firefighters might dig a line with hand tools, scratching several surface feet down to bare earth.
In the forest, wind picks up from one direction, temperatures rise, or the very layout in Ponderosa pine forests can influence the fire’s behavior in unforeseen ways.
While fire bosses strategize available resources and deploy manpower, priorities can shift to protect people, homes and infrastructure. The work also means long, grueling days, sometimes lasting 10 to 16 hours in persistent smoke.
On the ground, variables matter, because a midafternoon sun beatdown can metabolize a line in minutes. Tightly packed ground fuels mean fire jumps easily from underbrush or climbs to the canopy.
And yet, at the Boggy Draw Trail System on Sunday, the same complex task was approached with deliberate precision.
As fire crews with the San Juan National Forest’s Dolores Ranger District carried out a prescribed burn across roughly 1,500 acres Sunday and Monday, plans were meticulously front-loaded.
Prescribed burns are executed in carefully selected weather windows, considering temperature, humidity and soil moisture. The event involves wildlife and archaeological surveys, a test burn, correct staffing levels and contingency plans, applying a mix of fire science and technology.
Each year, the Forest Service treats thousands of acres with a broader aim to reduce ground fuels and improve forest health.
During Sunday’s morning briefing, the fire boss told crews they were looking for a low-intensity burn to limit tree mortality. He said, “Let’s go make it black but the right shade of black.”
Nick Mustoe, Dolores district ranger, said prescribed burning offers greater control over environmental conditions because operations are planned well in advance with full staffing and resources in place. He said the work also reduces the risk of more severe wildland fire later in the season.
“This is thing I want to show you is see how we’ve got space between our needles and all of this is stuff that has fallen since we burned it in spring,” he said, pointing to areas of Boggy Draw treated last year, about 700 acres north of Forest Service Road 257A.
“This is what your post-burn fuel conditions in the ground look like. Potentially something could spread in here, but it’s not going to spread very fast,” Mustoe said.
While wildland fire management has occurred for more than a century, wildfires in recent decades have grown more extreme and occur over longer portions of the year. It has become an all-hands effort, with the Forest Service working alongside other federal agencies, as well as local, state and tribal governments.
Last year, the Stoner Mesa Fire burned more than 10,000 acres. Mustoe said that did not mean uniform destruction because every fire creates some level of mosaic, burning at different rates and intensities.
Some tree species, such as spruce-fir forests, have naturally burned at high intensity, though they typically experience fire return intervals of 100 to 200 years due to snowpack and high elevation. Very little of the Stoner Mesa Fire, which burned for months, was high intensity, he said.
“It was abnormally large,” Mustoe said. “Good news. It stayed in the forest and never reached private land, which is great.”
Boggy Draw’s prescribed burn continued Monday with the final 300-plus acres on the extensive looping trail system just outside Dolores.
Fifty personnel attended the 8 a.m. briefing the previous day, including incident commanders, a pilot, meteorologist, medic and supervisors, alongside firefighting teams from Pagosa Springs, Montrose and other regions.
The operation held several objectives: promoting forest health and wildland fire mitigation while maintaining crew and public safety. A key component was ensuring public awareness.
Several trails are closed until May 2, though areas south of Forest Service Road 527C remain open. This includes biking trails such as Maveriks Loop and the Italian Canyon Loop.
Sunday’s burn incorporated technology, including drones for reconnaissance and infrared tools to identify hot spots. Tom Rice, recreation program manager, said drone use has become more common as it replaces placing people in dangerous positions.
A helicopter dropped plastic ignition spheres, sometimes called “dragon’s eggs,” which ignite on impact and allow crews to burn interior areas more efficiently.
“We are going to be low and slow so just keep a good eye on us,” the pilot said during the briefing. “The big thing is for the firing bosses on the ground: you have the firing and you have the breaks.”
Crews began Sunday morning with steady perimeter work along the target area’s north side using drip torches, lighting small fires while moving east and west. One boundary line followed a road adjacent to private land.
Radio chatter was constant as a meteorologist provided hourly forecasts.
Though the work of San Juan National Forest employees spans recreation, biology, permitting and administration, wildland fire has become a part of nearly everyone’s role.
Many employees choose to take on additional fire-related responsibilities, including informing the public about seasonal impacts.
awatson@the-journal.com
