COEUR d’ALENE — The Bureau of Land Management Coeur d’Alene District Office plans to finish “multiple fuels treatments and prescription burning projects” during the upcoming fall and winter months, according to a press release.

The Lynch Gulch Fuel Break pile burning project will take place on about 120 acres located south of Pinehurst in Shoshone County, on Bobby Anderson Ridge. Pile burning in the area is intended to clean up forest debris left from the creation of a fuel break earlier this year.  

The North Cougar pile burning project will take place on about 11 acres of BLM-managed land near U.S. 95 and Cougar Bay on Lake Coeur d’Alene. The Chilco pile burning project will take place on about 30 acres on the west side of U.S. 95, between the Highway 53 junction and Brunner Road.

Michael Traver-Greene, acting public information officer for BLM, said steps are taken to minimize the impact of prescribed burning on nearby communities.  

“We don't implement projects until we get clearance from the Montana Idaho Airshed Group,” Traver-Greene said. “They use multiple factors to determine timeframes for when burning will make the least impact to human health and to ensure we don't have smoke lingering over communities.”