U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
| Contacts: | Erin Curtis (970) 210-2126 |
Firefighters Battling Cottonwood II Fire Near Gateway
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Fire crews with the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit are fighting a fire near Gateway this afternoon. The Cottonwood II Fire was started by lightning yesterday afternoon and has grown to just over 100 acres today.
Fire managers say they have secured a line around the fire, and will be working to hold that line this afternoon as wind gusts of up to 35 miles an hour are expected. It is burning through grass and oak brush in steep, inaccessible terrain. Some historic structures were threatened by the fire yesterday, but fire crews have eliminated that threat.
More than 100 firefighters are on the scene, including 8 smokejumpers, two engine crews and four hand crews.
Smoke is visible throughout the Grand Valley today as a result of multiple fires throughout the west. Officials with the National Weather Service say much of the smoke filing the valley is from fires burning in Southern California and Utah. A fire burning near Nucla has reached 1260 acres this afternoon, as well. Firefighters with the Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit are fighting that fire today.
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Editors: For information on the Tabeguache Creek Fire near Nucla, call Lee Ann Loupe, MIFMU Fire Information Officer at 970-874-6717 (business hours); 970-596-0246 (Cell phone-after hours).
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.
2815 H Rd Grand Junction, CO 81506