San Juan National Forest officials said Monday that their strategy of intentionally fueling the Long Draw fire has created a firebreak for future fires and has improved grazing conditions.
Lightning started a small wildfire on June 21 in the Long Draw area south of Forest Road 532 east of the Dolores-Norwood Road in Dolores County. The fire, which was detected from the Bench Mark Lookout station, grew to 2,142 acres after Dolores District ranger Derek Padilla and fire manager Patrick Seekins decided to accelerate the lightning-caused fire in order to reduce built-up vegetative litter on the forest floor.
“It was a successful, low-intensity surface fire that cleaned up accumulated fuels in an area that had not seen fire in 40 to 50 years,” Seekins said.
Because the fire started at an elevation of 8,200 feet, moisture levels were conducive for a low-burning fire, and the risk that it would grow out of control was considered low.
To help the fire burn as planned, the Forest Service started fires in the contained area, which was bounded by roads on the perimeter. Officials deployed a helicopter that dropped pingpong-size balls filled with antifreeze and glycol that ignited when they hit the ground. It dropped 1,400 balls within a 2,000-acre area, officials said.
“It is a very effective tool, and is faster and safer than having firefighters hike for miles across rugged terrain with drip torches,” Padilla said.
Firefighters were on scene to manage the fire, he said.
The fire was in an area that officials had targeted for managed burns, and the lightning strike helped fire officials do their job, Padilla said, because it eliminated the need for planning and environmental reviews. Typically, prescribed burns require two years of planning under the National Environmental Policy Act.
“We accomplished in six days what usually takes years,” Seekins said.
A natural fire such as the one at Long Draw may cost $150 per acre to manage, the Forest Service says, while a prescribed burn may cost $500 per acre. The cost of mechanically reducing built-up fuels was estimated at $500 to $1,000 per acre.
The plan to help the Long Draw fire burn had its critics. One grazing permittee was concerned it would get out of hand and spread.
Padilla explained that by accelerating the fire in the contained area, the Forest Service kept it from burning longer and becoming susceptible to hotter and drier conditions
“When things are right, we take advantage of conditions,” Padilla said. “If it burned into this dry spell, it could have gotten bigger with more intensity.”
Padilla also said the fire improved grazing conditions by burning forest litter and Gambel oak, and it didn’t affect grazing schedules.
The Kinder Morgan compressor station, which is surrounded by a firebreak, wasn’t at risk.
