Prescribed burns could be responsible for smoky smell in Denver metro area

A few prescribed burns contributed to the smoky smell in the Denver metro area on Tuesday morning. Those include the Magic Feather Prescribed Burn, the Blue Ridge Prescribed Burn and the Payne Gulch Prescribed Burn. 

The Magic Feather Prescribed Burn is happening east of Red Feather Lakes in Northern Colorado and consists of ponderosa pine, aspen, riparian areas, and mixed conifer stands. Crews burned 175 acres on Monday, with 455 acres total burned over the past three days. 

No new ignitions were planned for Tuesday but smoke may be visible west of Livermore/Glacier View and south of Red Feather Lakes. The Mount Margaret Trailhead is open but a forest closure is in place south of Red Feather Lakes Road including Lady Moon and Elkhorn Creek. 

The Blue Ridge Prescribed Burn is south of Hot Sulphur Springs along Blue Ridge. The burn wrapped up about 8 p.m. Monday with 85 acres burned. Operations continued on Tuesday. Smoke will be visible and cooler temperatures in the area may settle smoke in the valley. 

The Payne Gulch Prescribed Burn happened southwest of downtown Bailey on Monday. Smoke along Highway 285 and Park County Road 64 is expected to clear out. Firefighters ignited 120 acres in the Payne Gulch burn on Sunday with another 329 acres burned on Monday for a two-day total of 449 acres.   

According to the U.S. Forest Service, "some small interior pockets of fuel will continue to burn and smolder producing smoke and potentially some visible flame" which is considered normal for this type of burn.    

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, there were no air quality alerts for the Front Range on Tuesday. There was a wildfire smoke smell that lingered in the Denver metro area on Monday night into Tuesday morning.