For Release: Immediately CCal-05-22
Contact: Dale Johnson 760-872-5055

Fire Fuels Reduction Work Proposed in Antelope Valley

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Bishop Field Office and the Humboldt - Toiyabe National Forest (HTNF) Bridgeport Ranger District are proposing to reduce hazardous fuels on 745 acres of BLM and HTNF land adjacent to, and in the vicinity of, state and private land in the Antelope Valley. The project would help protect residents and their homes from wildland fire, and increase safety for firefighters working to suppress a fire threatening the Antelope Valley communities.

The land proposed for treatment is comprised largely of pinyon pine, sage brush, bitterbrush, and herbaceous vegetation. Under the right conditions, this type of vegetation can produce a high intensity wildland fire, which is both difficult and dangerous to control.

To achieve hazardous fuels reduction, the BLM and HTNF are proposing to use a variety of mechanical treatments, singly or in combination, depending on the site-specific conditions. Typically, a 100 to 150 foot strip of vegetation immediately adjacent to private property is fully treated to create defensible space for firefighter safety, in the event of a wildland fire threatening homes and private property. Further away from private property, treatment is less intense and serves to create a more discontinuous fuels condition. Up to 645 acres of BLM land and 100 acres of HTNF land would be treated under this proposal.

Comments on this proposed project should be addressed to Dale Johnson, Fuels Specialist, BLM - Bishop Field Office, 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 100, Bishop, CA 93514. Comments should be received by December 17, 2004.

For more information, contact Dale Johnson, Fuels Specialist for the BLM Bishop Field Office, at (760) 872-5055, or Stuart Volkland, Fuels Specialist for the Bridgeport Ranger District, at (760) 932-7070.

-BLM-

Bishop Field Office - 351 Pacu Lane, Suite 100 - Bishop, CA 93514