Black smoke billowing north of Denver is prescribed burn

Fire crews are conducting another prescribed burn Sunday morning at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal northeast of Denver. 

Those same crews burned 423 acres on Thursday in the same manner. The large cloud of black smoke from that burn alarmed many residents as it drifted south across the east side of the Denver metro area.

Management announced last month its intent to remove fire fuels with controlled burning of sections of the Arsenal property. In total, more than 1,400 acres were originally scheduled to be worked on during the first week of November. That effort was moved to Nov. 15. Plans are to conduct burns through Monday, weather permitting.   

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,000-acre wildlife conservation site. The U.S. Army built a chemical weapons manufacturing facility there shortly after the start of World War II. Environmental cleanup of the site began in the early 1980s. A vibrant population of bald eagles and migrating birds prompted the federal government to designate the site a national wildlife refuge in 1992.

It now boasts 20 miles of hiking and biking trails and a thriving bison herd.