| Contacts: | David Boyd, Fire Information Officer, 970 319-4130 | |||
| Kim Miller, Fire Information Officer, 970-309-0348 |
Water Creek Fire perimeter doesn't grow (06-21-10)
RIFLE, Colo. – The 170-acre Water Creek Fire 10 miles northwest of Rifle did not grow today despite strong winds. It was active in the interior of the fire perimeter, consuming unburned pockets of timber.
About 100 firefighters worked the fire today, but the majority of personnel and resources on the fire will be released tomorrow. Some resources, including a fire use module of firefighters specifically trained to manage natural fires, will remain on-scene. They will closely monitor fire behavior and fuel conditions.
Allowing the fire to burn naturally benefits the area by clearing a large amount of dead and downed timber in the area and stimulating new forest growth.
The fire is expected to continue to burn for possibly several weeks, and smoke may be visible from Rifle and the surrounding area intermittently during this time. Firefighters will respond if necessary to keep the fire within objectives.
Access to the Roan Plateau via JQS Road and Cow Creek Road will be open tomorrow. The Rim Road is open, but several interior roads are closed for public safety until further notice, including BLM roads 8004 (Cook Ridge), 8006 (Northwater), 8008 (Long Ridge), and 8009. (A map showing the roads on the Roan Plateau is available at http://www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/crvfo.html)
A large amount of smoke moved into western Colorado today from fires burning near Flagstaff, Ariz.
Updates from the Water Creek Fire and other fires throughout the country are available at inciweb.org.
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