Two federal agencies pushed ahead Monday with the burning of 3,800 acres of mountainous terrain in the Hermosa Creek drainage about 10 miles north of Durango.

" We burned 220 acres Sunday in the Silver Creek area, and it went very well, " burn boss Craig Goodell said Monday. " That was the critical area because at lower elevation it was drier and closer to private land.

"Today, we're in the drainage between Elk Creek and Little Elk Creek. There is going to be more wind later in the week, but it doesn't matter because it can't push fire where we don't want it."

Goodell said a large amount of smoke will be visible around the Four Corners.

"People shouldn't panic. It (the amount of smoke) is normal for a prescribed burn of this size," he said.

Fifty-one firefighters were assigned to the burn Monday. Twenty-seven of them are smoke jumpers from Idaho, Montana, Oregon and Washington, mainly seasonal personnel under contract to the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land Management.

The underbrush was ignited from three helicopters, two from New Air Helicopters of Durango and one from Classic Helicopter Service out of Salt Lake City.

The objective of the prescribed burn, which has targeted 3,800 acres for burning during the remainder of the week, is to reduce the danger of wildfires, protect nearby homes and improve the habitat for deer and elk, Goodell said.

The last day of burning will depend on weather and the effectiveness of earlier burns. Ponderosa pine and Gambel oak dominate the slopes at lower altitudes, said Laurie Robison, a public-information officer for the San Juan National Forest's Columbine District.

There is a smattering of Douglas fir at higher elevations, she said. The elevation in the burn area ranges from 8,000 to 10,000 feet.

The Hermosa Creek burn has been in the works for years, Robison said. The last prescribed burn in the area was in 1989.

" Area trails and the snow - there's still snow at higher elevations - act as fire lines," she said. " In fact, in some places, firefighters can literally have one foot in snow and the other on dirt."

Engines from the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority and the Upper Pine Fire Protection District also were assigned to the project. The Jicarilla Bureau of Indian Affairs provided a helitorch, a device that dispenses gelled gasoline to ignite underbrush.

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