| Contacts: | David Boyd, Public Information Officer, (970) 319-4130 | |||
| Contact Aug 24: Matt McGrath, Public Information Officer, (970) 456-3623 |
Small wildfire expected to be visible from Eagle, I-70 tomorrow (08-23-10)
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Firefighters expect smoke from a small, lightning-ignited fire north of I-70 and three miles west of Eagle, Colo., will be visible throughout much of the day tomorrow in Eagle County.
The Wapiti Fire is burning about one-mile north of I-70 near mile marker 145. The 10 firefighters on-scene are closely monitoring the fire and do not expect it will grow much beyond one acre due to natural fuel breaks and barriers. Firefighters will allow the fire to burn naturally to benefit forest health and wildlife habitat.
This strategy also keeps firefighter safety a priority and more efficiently uses firefighting resources. No structures are threatened. The fire is burning on land administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
Should conditions or fire behavior change beyond acceptable levels, firefighters will take suppression action.
The last lightning in the area was four days ago, but the firefighters on-scene confirmed the fire resulted from a lightning strike. The fire did not become active enough to be noticed until this evening. Such “hold-over” fires are common, especially when moisture accompanies a thunderstorm.
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 Road Grand Junction, CO 81506