Slash pile burns to begin in Star Valley

Bridger-Teton National Forest firefighters will begin igniting slash pile fires near Star Valley on the Greys River Ranger District Thursday.

The first scheduled ignitions are on the 12-acre unit north of Cedar Creek and Vista Drive in Star Valley Ranch. More piles are tentatively scheduled for Monday, September 30, on 9 additional acres near Cedar Creek.

Forest officials said the burns will be one-day events. Ignitions will cease early in the afternoon to allow piles and fuels to burn down prior to evening inversions and to reduce smoke impacts in the area.

Fire crews will patrol and monitor the pile burns to ensure they do not spread.

All the activity is closely tied to weather conditions.

If conditions allow, another 79 acres in the Lost Creek area will also be ignited.

Contractors thinned and piled slash on an additional 96 acres of National Forest land along the southern half of the town of Star Valley Ranch. Burning of those piles is tentatively scheduled in October.