Fuel Reduction Pile Burns Planned in Grand Teton

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Teton Interagency Fire personnel will burn slash piles created from fuel reduction projects in Grand Teton National Park in the coming weeks. Firefighters have focused on fuel reduction efforts in developed areas to reduce wildfire risk, and pile burning is the last step in this thinning process.

Fuel reduction includes thinning and removing lower limbs from trees and the removal of dead wood and brush from the forest floor. Firefighters place the slash from fuel reduction work into tepee-shaped piles and let them cure for a year before burning them. Firefighters will burn these piles under low fire behavior conditions resulting from wet weather and snow accumulation. Smoke may be visible from these piles during the day of ignition and may linger in the area for a few days.

Fuel reduction burns are planned to occur near the following locations: Bar BC Ranch, Colter Bay Pit, Elk Ranch Flats, Kelly Pit, Murie Ranch, Seligman (near park’s south boundary at Poker Flats), Sky Ranch and Snake River Land Company (Moran)

It is difficult to predict exactly when the burning will occur because reduction piles are only ignited under certain conditions, including favorable smoke dispersal and weather conditions that limit the chance of fire spread.

Public and firefighter safety is always the number one priority in all burn operations. Fire management staff will monitor the piles to assure complete combustion and consumption of all fuels and to assess conditions. If smoke lingers, signs will be posted along roadsides to remind drivers to use headlights for safer travel.

Jeff
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