The Alpine Hot Shots are assisting researchers who are testing the effects of burning trees in a 50-acre test site that were killed by bark beetles in Rocky Mountain National Park west of Denver.
Standing in the snow and using a propane-fueled torch, the Hot Shots ignite the dead or dying, red-needled lodgepole pine trees one or two at a time hoping that the fire will kill the beetles that spend the winter embedded in the bark of the trees.
The researchers from Colorado State University and the National Park Service also want to determine if the heat will cause the serotinous cones, which only open with the heat of a fire, will drop their seeds onto the snow and reforest the affected areas.
In tests on Wednesday, the Hot Shots and researchers found that if a tree has lost 50 percent of its needles or if it is infested but still has some green needles, it is difficult to burn in the winter.
Burning the standing trees while there is snow on the ground may also be a method for reducing the flammable fuels around developed areas, creating a fuel break.
If this experiment works, the technique might also be used to pretreat planned prescribed fire areas, creating a black line around the perimeter and making it easier and safer to burn the unit.