| Contacts: | Cass Cairns, 719-269-8553 or cell 719-429-1721 |
Parkdale Canyon Fire Update (06-22-10)
Cañon City, Colo. – The Parkdale Canyon Fire is burning in pinyon-juniper and grasses about 14 miles northwest of Cañon City and just north-northeast of the Royal Gorge Bridge park area in Colorado. Multiple fire starts were reported in the area around 2:00 p.m. yesterday afternoon and the cause of the fire is under investigation. The fire is estimated at 700 acres.
Two firefighting crews made great progress and completed burnout operations along the northwest perimeter of the fire last night. One of the crews ended their shift at midnight while the other continued working on building fireline through the night. Engine crews remained overnight patrolling the area around structures, mopping up hot spots, and holding the fireline at County Road 61.
Fire managers met with the Fremont County Sheriff, County officials, and the BLM late last night and decided to lift the evacuation for the area along the immediate corridor of Highway 50 east of County Road 61 at 6:00 a.m. this morning. At the same time, Highway 50 will reopen to one-way traffic guided by a pilot car.
The Royal Gorge Bridge, Buckskin Joe, the KOA campground, and areas north of Highway 9 will remain closed until the fire no longer poses a threat to those areas. The river through the Gorge will remain closed to rafting. Fire officials and cooperating agencies recognize how important it is for evacuees to return to their homes and businesses and are working hard to lift all evacuations as soon as it is safe to do so.
A Type 2 Incident Management Team has been ordered. Resources committed to the fire include: two firefighter crews, 20 engines, one large and one small helicopter, one large airtanker, two single engine airtankers, and a fixed-wing aircraft for aerial support. Three more firefighter crews and additional engines have been ordered. There are approximately 175 fire personnel assigned to the fire.
Predicted weather conditions are a concern with lower humidities and west to northwest winds that would push the fire to the south-southeast into the direction of the Royal Gorge Bridge and Buckskin Joe areas.
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.
3028 E. Main Street Canon City, CO 81212