U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
| Contacts: | Lee Ann Loupe, 970-874-6717 (business hours), 970-596-0246 (afterhours cell phone). |
Tabeguache Creek Fire
Montrose, Colo. – Interagency resources out of the Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit (MIFMU) continue to manage the Tabeguache Creek Fire that began by lightening on the afternoon of August 29. The fire is estimated to be 950 acres in size and had an active burning period yesterday afternoon while a thunderstorm moved over the fire and through the area. The fire is burning on national forest lands within the Uncompahgre National Forest, in portions of the Tabeguache Special Management Area.
The fire continues to be managed for multiple objectives. Priorities include continuing to manage the fire away from private land and to protect 3 seasonal-use cabins and one outbuilding through suppression on private lands. Other portions of the fire (on national forest lands) are being managed to reduce heavy woody vegetation and downed fuels and to improve wildlife habitat, in areas where fires would naturally occur to sustain the ecosystem.
Interagency resources currently assigned to the fire include 14 Smokejumpers, 3 engines, 2 bulldozers and two “hot shot” crews comprised of 20-persons each. Aircraft working on the fire on Sunday included 3 Single Engine Airtankers (SEATS) and 2 helicopters. One SEAT and one helicopter continue to be assigned to the Tabeguache Fire today, although depending on wind conditions, initial attack needs and other fires burning on the Western Slope, these resources could be reassigned. There is no estimate of containment or control.
In other areas within the MIFMU zone, initial attack activities are occurring on 17 other small fires that were started by lightening from the thunderstorm that moved through the area yesterday. These fires as small (1/4 acre or less) and single tree fires that resources are working on to suppress and are located on Bureau of Land Management lands in the Naturita Ridge and Sawtooth areas.
MEDIA NOTE: CORRECTED Fire information number. Fire updates will be available on the MIFMU Information line at: 970.249.1070
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
2465 South Townsend Montrose, Colorado 81401