Four years ago, Christa and Kurt Johnson found a large pile of logs, dead trees and branches behind their Conifer home.

In 2008, the Forest Service set out to make fire breaks by cutting the trees. However, the piles of wood and branches remained.

Christa's worried they're doing more harm than good.

"It's significantly cheaper for them to clear this up - even haul it away - than it is to pay to put out a fire," she said.

The Forest Service says it did cut down all these trees back in 2008, but the weather conditions just haven't been good enough to set it all on fire.

They say it's just as safe as every other part of the forest. However, the Johnson's aren't buying it.

"I don't buy it at all. They certainly wouldn't allow us to have a small campfire this close to timber," Christa Johnson said.

Fire expert Lloyd Burton says leftover slash piles can make fires worse.

"There were slash piles in the Four Mile Canyon Fire in 2010 and they burned with tremendous intensity," he said.

The Forest Service says they can't haul them off or chip them up. Legally they have to burn the piles.

Christa says she just wants them gone.

"I realize that they're up against a lot of bureaucracy," Christa said. "But ask me if I care about bureaucracy?"

William Pitts contributed to this article 

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