Lower North Fork Prescribed Fire

In 2012, the Colorado State Forest Service (CSFS) led the Lower North Fork Prescribed Fire Project on a 50-acre unit of the Denver Water property. However, a rapidly escalating wind event carried ground-level embers across the established prescribed fire control line, resulting in three spot fires that eventually led to an escape and conversion to a wildfire. Contributing factors included strong winds, an insufficient buffer area, unburned fuel and residual heat, and inadequate weather forecasting and fire behavior prediction. The incident highlighted the need for prescribed burns to be planned with thorough technical review and up-to-date implementation guidelines.