City Plans to Conduct Slash Pile Burning Northwest of Nederland Next Week

The City of Boulder is planning to burn a slash pile in the Silver Lake Watershed area northwest of Nederland next week. Boulder Fire-Rescue, with support from firefighters from other communities, will supervise the burn – which could occur anytime between Tuesday, June 20, through Thursday, June 22.

Smoke from the planned slash pile burn may be visible north of Nederland and west of the Peak-to-Peak highway for several days. Ignitions for the planned burn will begin after 10 a.m. and will end before 3 p.m. The city is conducting the planned burn to reduce vegetation – including trees logged as part of fire risk management efforts, broken tree limbs and beetle-kill – in the Silver Lake Watershed area, which helps supply water to the City of Boulder.

When the city implements a slash pile burn, firefighters trained in preparing, lighting, and supervising slash burns will manage a team of certified firefighting staff to confine and contain the burn. Firefighters will monitor the burn at all times until it is completely extinguished.

The planned burn will only be carried out if and when weather conditions are acceptable. If safe environmental conditions are not present, the burn will be delayed. Due to the complex nature of planning prescribed burns, the city cannot state what exact days it will burn. Therefore, when conditions are appropriate, the city will release additional information on the prescribed burn for that day.

Smoke from prescribed and slash pile fires may affect health. The Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment Wood Smoke and Health webpage and the Boulder County Public Health Wildfire Air Quality & Health webpage provide tips on how to protect health from smoke.