Trails north of Nederland to close for slash pile burning

Screenshot of a slash pile burn image in a Boulder County advisory.Photo byBoulder County

By Matt Whittaker / NewsBreak Denver

(Boulder County, Colo.) Portions of Boulder County public space north of Nederland will be closed next week when officials burn vegetation cleared to reduce the risk of wildfires, the county said.

Boulder County Parks & Open Space and the Sheriff’s Office Fire Management Program will conduct slash pile burns at Caribou Ranch and Mud Lake Sunday through Saturday.

As a result, all of Caribou Ranch and the Caribou Ranch Link, Chickadee and Sherwood Forest trails in the Mud Lake area will be closed during ignition days, which could be any day during the Jan. 22-28 period. The other trails at Mud Lake will remain open, as will the parking lot there.

During the burns, smoke may be visible north of Nederland, the county said.

“Pile burns are conducted to reduce the amount of fuel on the ground as a result of forest thinning operations,” the county said. “The fire crews try to burn when there is a winter weather system in the area and conditions are favorable. Operations are only conducted when there is sufficient snow cover to ensure safe fire operations and containment.”

People can view closure alerts on the county parks and open space Facebook page and Twitter feed or sign up for closure email or text alerts here.