Prescribed Fires Scheduled for Surrounding Area

Interagency Bureau of Land Management–U.S. Forest Service crews from the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit (UCR) plan to conduct prescribed burns within the next two weeks. The three areas slated for burning are the Garvey Unit, 150 acres in size and located in the Book Cliffs about 20 miles north of Fruita on public land administered by the BLM Grand Junction Field Office; the Battlements Unit, 800 acres in size and located 10 miles northeast of Collbran on BLM and Grand Valley Ranger District-Grand Mesa Forest (GVRD-GMF) public lands; and the Dominguez/Brushy Ridge Units, 1,000 acres in size and located 30 miles south of Grand Junction on GVRD-GMF public land. Fuels being treated in these areas are mountain shrub, sagebrush and pinyon-juniper.

The main objective of these prescribed fires is to reduce dense vegetation to lessen the chance for catastrophic wildfires. The burn will also improve wildlife habitat and increase forage for livestock.

Weather conditions will be closely monitored, and the burn will only be initiated if conditions are ideal for safe and effective fires. Each prescribed burn conducted by the UCR has a detailed fire plan developed in advance, along with appropriate smoke permits obtained from state agencies. Prescribed fires are one of many tools public land managers use to reduce the risk of catastrophic wildfires while improving wildlife habitat and overall land health.

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