Hikers frolicking in Dalla Mountain Park should beware of people wielding chain saws.

This was the major takeaway from an interview with Cathy Metz, director of Durango Parks and Recreation Department, about upcoming fuel-reduction work in Dalla Mountain Park.

Fuel reduction is scheduled to start today and last a week. It will involve workers thinning vegetation by hand on about 3 acres.

“If you are in the park and hear a chain saw, or see the sawyers working, we’re just encouraging the public to keep their distance and exercise caution,” Metz said.

“You’d think that would be intuitive to most people, but we just want the public to be aware of their surroundings and exercise good judgment,” she said Wednesday.

The point of fuel reduction is to ensure Dalla Mountain Park is less vulnerable to wildfires. Durango Parks and Recreation is working on the project in partnership with the Southwest Conservation Corps and the Colorado State Forest Service,

“We’ve been working with the (conservation corps) for one or two weeks over multiple years to thin fuel in the park. It’s to prevent a catastrophic wild fire,” Metz said.

The project will continue through Sept. 11, weather permitting.

In the meantime, Metz said, “don’t get too close to people operating chain saws.”

cmcallister@durangoherald.com