BLM to thin fire fuels near Carbondale

CARBONDALE – Work to reduce the risk of wildfire on Bureau of Land Management property near private lands will begin next week north of Carbondale.The project is a cooperative effort between the BLM and Carbondale & Rural Fire Protection District. A crew will reduce hazardous fuels on about 27 acres of BLM land west of the intersection of Garfield County roads 103 and 112, in the Crystal Springs area.”A primary goal is to reduce the risk of a wildfire burning from public lands onto private land and threatening property in the area,” said BLM fuels specialist Ody Anderson in a BLM press release.The crew will reduce “ladder fuels,” which can carry a fire into the tree canopy, by thinning smaller trees and cutting limbs from larger trees to 3 to 4 feet from the ground. Dead and downed material will be cut and piled for later burning in the winter. The work is expected to continue through Aug. 20.”Fire danger in the communities north of Carbondale has always worried me,” said Carbondale Fire Chief Ron Leach in the press release.The work being done by the BLM is a good example for residents to follow in reducing wildfire danger on their own properties, he said.