| Contacts: | Shannon Borders, 970-462-1009 |
Evacuations and road closures in place near Sunrise Mine Fire (05-26-12)
MONTROSE, Colo. - The Montrose County Sheriff’s Posse has evacuated the Buckeye Reservoir, Rock Creek and Sinbad Valley due to the Sunrise Mine fire burning about four miles north of Paradox, Colo. Additionally, the Montrose County Sheriff closed Buckeye Road, R1 Road and U5 Road.
The fire was reported around 5 p.m. on Friday, May 25 and has burned over 3000 acres of public and private land. Due to high winds in the area, information about the containment and control times are not available, and the cause of the fire is currently under investigation.
Fire crews have created defendable spaces around structures in the area and no structures have burned at this time.
There are 10 engines on the scene with type one team moving into the area. Multiple resources are fighting this fire with personnel from the Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit, Montrose County Sherriff’s Posse, Paradox Volunteer Fire Department, Gateway Fire Department, Nucla/Naturita Volunteer Fire Department, Manti-La Sal National Forest, Upper Colorado River Fire Management Unit and the Bureau of Land Management-Colorado and Utah.
For fire information and updates in the Montrose Interagency Fire Management unit, call the fire hotline at 970-240-1070.
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 Avenue Montrose, CO 81401