Bureau of Land Management (BLM) burned 29 acres of piles of cut trees adjacent to the road into Browns Hole south of Moab. This completes a BLM project to reduce flammable vegetation on a few thousand acres in the Black Ridge area. Juniper and pinyon trees were thinned, cut and piled to provide a safe egress along the road in the event of a wildfire. After the thinning was complete permits were available so residents could use the downed trees for fuel. Crews waited for snow to cover the ground before igniting the piles to prevent fire from escaping to the wildland. With this phase of the project complete, if a wildfire does occur in the area it will be easier for firefighters to suppress since the fire would burn as a ground fire instead of a canopy fire which spreads on the ground and through the pinyon and juniper woodlands. [Photo by Zach Glover/ Courtesy BLM]
