BLM to burn piles of brush in Sandy Cove area

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to burn piles of brush in the Sandy Cove area of the Colorado River later this week.

Sandy Cove, which is also known as Hippy Hole, is located two miles west of the community of Cibola, along the east side of the Colorado River in La Paz County.

The burning is scheduled to begin on Friday and will continue until all of the piles have been burned. The start date and time for the burning operation depends on weather and may be delayed until appropriate conditions occur.

The prescribed burning of the piles will be conducted over a one- to four-day period. There are a total of nine piles of brush that will be burned in a 14-acre area south of the Cove.

The piles are expected to burn quickly. Although the smoke should disperse out of the area in a short period of time as well, area residents should expect some light smoke in the area during the burn operation. For public safety reasons, La Paz County mechanically cleared vegetation in the Sandy Cove area and placed the vegetation in brush piles last spring. The brush piles include tamarisk, arrowweed, cottonwood and bulrush/cattail.

This prescribed burn is a joint venture with BLM, La Paz County, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.