COMMERCE CITY, Colo. — Don't be alarmed if you see smoke rising in Commerce City next week.
Prescribed fire burning activities are planned at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge beginning Tuesday, Feb. 1.
The burns will be conducted between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. and smoke may be visible and people in the area may smell smoke.
The Refuge burns piles of woody debris, or slash, in an effort to reduce hazardous fuels. These piles are made from the slash left after thinning and cutting trees, mostly invasive trees like Russian olive.
The purpose of the burns is to reinvigorate the growth of native prairie vegetation, reduce accumulated litter, manage efforts for weed control and improve habitat to sustain wildlife, said the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Prescribed burns are a tool land managers use to reduce the risk of wildfire in the wildland urban interface.
All pile burns are conducted within the requirements of a smoke permit issued by the State of Colorado, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said.
Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information see colorado.gov.
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