Forest Health and Fire Mitigation

Denver Mountain Parks works with community partners on a variety of projects to improve and maintain forest health while protecting park resources and nearby communities.

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Find additional resources and learn more about current projects below:

2024 Prescribed Pile Burning

Beginning January 11, 2024: 

Denver Mountain Parks Natural Resource division is preparing for prescribed pile burning on open space lands beginning January 2024 and continuing into the spring of 2024. Piles of woody debris (slash) are burned to help reduce hazardous fuels. As conditions allow, prescribed burning of slash on the administrative unit will take place at the following locations:

  • Dedisse Park (39.629 N 105.335 W) approximately 1 mile west of downtown Evergreen, CO (Jefferson County) – Evergreen Fire Protection District
  • Fillius Park (39.695 N 105.346 W) approximately 5.9 miles north of downtown Evergreen, CO (Jefferson County) – Evergreen Fire Protection District
  • Pence Mtn along State Highway 103 (39.685 N 105.407 W) approximately 7.4 miles northwest of Evergreen, CO (Clear Creek County) -- Evergreen Fire Protection District
  • North Turkey Creek (39.583 N 105.281 W) approximately 3 miles north of Aspen Park (Jefferson County) -- Evergreen Fire Protection District
  • Legault North 40 (39.536 N 105.252 W) approximately 1.5 miles southeast of Aspen Park (Jefferson County) – Elk Creek Fire Protection District
  • Cub Creek along S. Brook Forest (39.616 N 105.328 W) approximately 1 mile south of Evergreen (Jefferson County) -- Evergreen Fire Protection District
  • Berrian Mtn (39.567 N, 105.301 W) approximately 2 miles north of Conifer (Jefferson County) -- Evergreen Fire Protection District

The prescribed fire projects goals are to reduce the accumulation of hazardous fuels, restore and maintain healthy and diverse ecosystems, and maintain and enhance wildlife habitat.  Prescribed fire is an important tool in reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire across the landscape and can help prevent extreme fires by reducing fuel buildup.  Piles consist of small trees, as well as treetops and limbs, cut and piled during forest management/fire mitigation and/or other vegetation management projects.  Slash piles vary in size but average a size of around 6’x6’x6’.  All piles were created by hand and contain a very limited amount of non-wood debris.  

Ignitions will occur only when weather and fuel conditions meet established parameters and when smoke impacts can be managed within state requirements.  Ignition and burning operations may continue for several days or weeks depending on the number of piles being burned.  Fire personnel will monitor the burns until the fires are completely out.

Prescribed fires minimize impacts to air quality when compared to wildfires. Prescribed fire smoke may affect people’s health. Once the prescribed fire begins, smoke may be resent for several days or weeks in the general project areas. 

Fillius Park & Pence Mountain Forest Health Treatment

Project Overview & Timeline
Denver Mountain Parks is partnering with Evergreen Fire/Rescue to accomplish fuels reduction work on 115 acres of mixed conifer forest. Starting winter 2022/2023, Evergreen Fire fuels module will be conducting tree felling operations in the Eastern portion of Fillius Park. The module will be piling the slash into piles to burn winter 2023-2024. The remaining 50 acres at Fillius Park will be treated using heavy machinery in areas of dense Douglas-fir dominant regeneration.

During use of heavy equipment, portions of Fillius Park Trail will be closed spring/summer 2023.

Fillius Park Management Objectives
The Fillius Park project area is a 50-acre treatment in primarily Ponderosa pine and dry mixed conifer forest. The management objectives for this area include:

  • Create a mosaic of forest conditions and structures that allow for wildfire and other insect/disease disturbances to occur within a natural range of variability
  • Favor retention of Ponderosa pine and lesser amounts of Douglas-fir
  • Retain trees on all slope positions, with fewer trees on ridges and more on southern-exposed slopes
  • Retain larger diameter Douglas-fir on northerly aspects and existing Blue Spruce, Aspen, and Ponderosa pine
  • Break up tree crown continuity by creating gaps and openings within forest structure
  • Retain at least one wildfire snag per acre where naturally occurring

Pence Mountain Management Objectives:
The Pence Mountain project area is a 65-acre treatment in primarily lodgepole pine forest and upper montane mixed conifer forest. The management objectives for this area include:

  • Protect the development of larger, more established trees (greater than 15" dbh)
  • Create a mosaic of forest conditions and structures that allow for wildfire and other insect/disease disturbance to occur within a natural range of variability
  • Enhance aspen components of the treated areas by enhancing available growing space through the removal of stagnant, unhealthy conifer stands
  • Retain individual or groups of live vigorous trees and create openings between groups
  • Remove all unhealthy lodgepole pine of all sizes, as well as small diameter Douglas-fir (<12" diameter)

Download the full project description(PDF, 2MB)


Legault Mountain Forest Restoration & Wildfire Mitigation


More Forest Health Information & Resources: