Prescribed burn continues along Front Range

UPDATE 8:00 p.m.: A firefighter working on the Pingree Hill Prescribed Burn was injured Monday, according to a release from the U.S. Forest Service. The firefighter was taken to Northern Colorado Medical Center in Greeley for evaluation. Further information was not immediately available Monday night.

A prescribed burn in the Poudre Canyon near Rustic may continue throughout the week, depending on conditions, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Canyon Lakes Ranger District and firefighters are continuing to monitor the Pingree Hill Prescribed Burn, which could cause smoke to be visible from Red Feather Lakes, the Poudre Canyon and along the Front Range.

Approximately 150 acres were burned Sunday, bringing the total to about 400 acres burned since Friday. The burn was started to help reduce hazardous fuels and improve forest health, according to the Forest Service.

You can follow the burn's progress on Inciweb; Canyon Lakes Ranger District is also posting updates on Twitter.

Health and safety

Smoke from prescribed burns can be hazardous to your health, if you are near the area. The Colorado Department of Health and Environment offers the following tips:

• Close windows and doors and stay inside. 
• Smoke can be worse at night, so be extra vigilant
• Filter your air by running your air conditioner, but only if the system is filtered. 
• Use a HEPA room air filtration unit, if you have one
• Avoid exercise or other strenuous activities in heavy smoke
• Do not rely on commercially-available dust masks, which do virtually nothing to filter out the particles and gasses in smoke.