Pile burning is defined as reducing wildfire risk by removal and controlled burning in the winter of high-risk fuels by professional firefighters. During the High Park Fire of 2013, pile burning methods that had been employed along Pingree Park Road dramatically slowed the fire and made it easier to contain. Without pile burning in this area, this portion of the fire would have been much more damaging and uncontrollable. Pile burning reduces intensity of wildfire by removing ladder fuels, which are stands of small trees that fire uses to jump to the bigger trees, which increases the heat and spread of forest fires. Areas that are targeted for pile burning are stands of trees near homes, to reduce the risk of the damage done in residential areas in the event of a forest fire. Pile burning is the most widely used and the most effective method for fighting forest fires, and in the future this technique will continue to protect Colorado from the destruction of wildfires.
