Western Colorado Sees Weekend Smoke, But No Wildfire

Where there is smoke there is usually fire, but not all fire is bad fire.

Western Colorado residents may have seen plumes of smoke in the sky south of Grand Junction over the weekend and wondered if we were getting an early start to the wildfire season. Fortunately, that is not the case.

Fighting Fire With Fire

Considering how dry conditions have been in western Colorado, it wouldn't be a surprise to anyone to hear news of a wildfire. While major fires have been averted so far, Grand Junction area firefighters recently have had to contend with some brush fires. On a larger scale, the memory of 2020's Pine Gulch FIre north of Grand Junction, the Grizzly Creek Fire through Glenwood Canyon, and the Cameron Peak Fire are still very fresh in our minds.

Another old adage says the best way to fight fire is with fire and that is exactly was the Bureau of Land Management is in the process of doing in various areas across the state.

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Bureau of Land Management at Work

Over the weekend, BLM Colorado Fire reports the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit was burning about 70 acres within Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area. The Farmers Canyon Prescribed fire 18 miles south of Grand Junction is designed to reduce dense vegetation - and in the process, lower the risk of a large wildfire while stimulating new vegetation growth.

Weekend campers at the Dominguez Campground probably noticed the smoke and wondered what was going on, but everything was under control and conditions were being closely monitored.

The Colorado wildfire season is just beginning and efforts like this can really help minimize the impact of possible wildfires. Nobody wants a repeat of last year's devastating Colorado wildfires. Be assured that everything this weekend was under control.