A prescribed burn in the Boggy Draw area about 4 miles north of Dolores created hazy skeis Thursday afternoon and into the evening across parts of Southwest Colorado, including Durango.
The U.S. Forest Service was able to burn about 1,130 acres on Thursday.
“That includes areas right around the Boggy Draw trailhead and Boggy Draw trail system that a lot of people like to bike,” said Andy Lyon, spokesman for the San Juan National Forest.
The Boggy Draw trail system will be closed through the weekend, he said, but the Maverick Trail and Italian Canyon Loop are open.
Despite high winds across parts of Southwest Colorado, conditions were favorable Thursday for the prescribed burn, he said. The day began with cool temperatures, high humidity and overcast skies, which made burning difficult. “But it did burn reasonably well; we’re happy with the result,” Lyon said.
The fire burned mostly underbrush fuels, including green grass and oak brush.
“Smoke from the Boggy Draw burn may settle into low-lying areas and valleys this evening (Thursday) depending on weather conditions overnight,” the San Juan National Forest said on its Facebook page.
Firefighters had hoped to continue burning on Friday, but weather conditions were not cooperating.
“We're going to have people out here for days keeping an eye on things, but we're not planning to do any burning tomorrow (Friday),” Lyon said. “We'll be looking at windows next week for additional burning.”
shane@durangoherald.com
