Before Colorado was settled, grass and brush fires started by lightning would sweep clean the forest floors up to 10 times per century, leaving the tall, mature trees intact. Fire suppression allowed new trees sprouting up on the forest floor to grow 10 feet or more providing a ladder for fires and pests to reach the upper canopy that cause today's catastrophic forest fires. Prescribed burns or clearing and removing smaller trees are ways to simulate the natural cycle of low intensity fires that maintain a healthy forest.
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