Smoke seen south of Rangely

RANGELY I Smoke visible to the south of Rangely this week was the result of a plan by the Northwest Colorado Fire Management Unit to burn approximately 180 piles of pinyon/juniper slash accumulated during a thinning project.
Firefighters burned the piles on Bureau of Land Management-administered land 18 miles south of Rangely, Colo., adjacent to Rio Blanco County Road 23. The project was designed to reduce wildfire risk near oil and gas facilities to improve…