Manti-La Sal National Forest Press Release
North Zone works in Huntington Canyon
The North Zone fire management program has been focused on fuels projects. This past month, the fire and fuels crews spent a week in Huntington Canyon cutting dead trees along SR-31.
Employees are removing dead and down trees in order to improve the scenic value along the corridor, which has been identified as a scenic byway. The limbs from the trees have been placed in piles, which will be burned at a future time. The logs were cut and piled along the road to make it available to the public as firewood. The project has been very successful in its early stages as nearly all the cut wood has been removed by the public. The project will continue next summer when the seasonal crews return to work. They have also been working on the Willow and Dry Canyon fuels projects. Permanent seasonal employees are now on furlough for the winter. Preparedness efforts are focused on hiring seasonal employees for the upcoming season and engaging in the “Fire Hire” process.
The fuels crew continues to be busy. They have been working on the Swasey Phase 8 mastication project. They have also been working on campground maintenance with recreation. They are in the process of moving all equipment to projects at lower elevations due to snow levels at the current work locations.
Brandon Jensen, prevention specialist, has been busy pulling signs for the winter and fixing those damaged by fire. Jensen has also been coordinating chainsaw training and certifications for the forest. He recently helped with the Huntington Canyon project and was able to certify one Type 1 faller/C-faller and recertify five Type 2 fallers/B-fallers.
South Zone crews focus on mastication
This last month, fire and fuels crews focused on project work while monitoring conditions for a burn window. While fuels conditions were favorable on some units, the weather was not as the clearing index (for air quality and smoke dispersal) was too low. The mastication crew will continue work as weather permits. Contractor’s work on the North End Project is also weather dependent.