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<br />OilJ299 <br /> <br />Fire Management <br /> <br />Fire control practices employed since the turn of the century in the Southern San Juan <br />Mountains Unit have reduced the number and size of fires and the extent of their damage. <br />Fire control has also altered the natural role of fire in the forest ecosystems, and in some <br />areas the natural forest regeneration cycles have been affected. <br /> <br />The fire control practices have also increased accummulations of dead wood or "fuel" in <br />parts of the unit. This fuel build-up in turn increases the susceptibility of the forest to larger <br />and more intense fires. <br /> <br />During the last ten years, however, 133 small fires have occurred, producing an average of <br />13 fires per year. Lightning was responsible for 100 of the fires and human carelessness was <br />blamed for the remain ing 33. <br /> <br />The use of fire as a management tool on National Forests is increasing as the technical and <br />scientific knowledge of the subject is refined. Under some conditions, fire can be used to <br />meet long-term esthetic, vegetative, wildlife, or disease control objectives. Much remains to <br />be done, however, before the application of these fire management techniques becomes <br />widespread. In the meantime, the policy of prompt control with a minimum amount of site <br />disturbance by equipment will continue. <br /> <br />~ <br />