EL PASO COUNTY, CO — The El Paso County Sheriff's Office will be assisting the U.S. Forest Service in controlled burns this upcoming week.
The burn is expected to cover 400 acres in the Ensign Gulch area near Rampart Range Road and Forest Service Road 314. The purpose of the burn is to reduce fire fuel around a reservoir and water storage facilities in the area.
The sheriff's office said in a news release that people in El Paso, Teller, Pueblo, Fremont, Park, and Douglas Counties should expect to see smoke in the area. Sheriff Joe Roybal is asking members of the public to refrain from calling 911 if they see smoke and to only call if they see unsupervised flames.
Anyone with plans for outdoor recreation around Rampart Range Road and Forest Service Road 314 should expect to experience some delays and closures in the area. If you do travel in those areas keep an eye out for the wildland fire personnel in vehicles and on foot.
WATCH: MORE PRESCRIBED BURNS NEEDED
The sheriff's office says this is the initial phase of a wildland fire maintenance operation conducted on National Forest Lands in El Paso County. These operations follow the outline for more prescribed burns laid out at the State of the Outdoors meeting in May of 2023.
The burns could take place between September 25-27, but will only occur if weather and fuel conditions are good.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
