As early as mid-September, Blaine County residents may begin to see smoke plumes rising into the air over the Sawtooth National Recreation Area and on the Sawtooth National Forest's Ketchum Ranger District.
But they needn't be alarmed. The thin ribbons of smoke floating into the otherwise clear, autumn air will be rising from prescribed burning projects deliberately set by U.S. Forest Service officials. The burns will begin as soon as possible, said Matt Filbert, fuels specialist for the Ketchum Ranger District and SNRA.
"Of course, all this depends on weather conditions," Filbert said.
According to fire officials, the fires will be coordinated to minimize the impacts of smoke on local communities and to limit the chance for the blazes to burn out of control.
One of the planned burns—called the Pole Creek Aspen Regeneration Project—will involve the use of prescribed fire on 250 acres. The project will take place about one mile east of Smiley Creek in the northern part of Blaine County.
"At Pole Creek, our goal is to create conditions that will facilitate re-sprouting of aspen—leading to a stronger, healthier stand of aspen trees," Filbert said.
An ongoing project to help restore whitebark pine stands will include seven different burn units spread across numerous ridges in the Sawtooth Valley, a Sawtooth National Forest news release stated. Up to three of these units will be ignited this fall.
These include a 400-acre burn on the Rainbow unit about four miles east of Smiley Creek. Another burn called the Bromaghin unit will cover about 215 acres and will take place five miles southeast of Stanley.
The final whitebark pine burn that will take place this fall will be in the Headwaters unit, which covers 300 acres and is located five miles southeast of Smiley Creek.
Fire crews will also burn numerous slash piles left behind by firewood cutters and timber sales. In the Ketchum area, slash piles will be burned west of town. This will include burning of leftover slash that resulted from cutting that took place in May for the new gondola line on Bald Mountain.
Other local burning will take place out Warm Springs Creek west of Ketchum near the base of the Flying Squirrel lift, forest officials stated.
Adjacent to the Warm Springs Golf Course, crews will burn slash piles created from a nearby Forest Service fuels reduction project.
For more information on the planned burning projects, contact Matt Filbert at 727-5046.
