| Contacts: | David Boyd, Public Information Officer, 970 319-4130 |
Firefighters reach 60% containment on Highway 13 Fire (10-05-12)
RIFLE, Colo. – Firefighters kept the spread of the Highway 13 Fire in check for a second day and reached 60 percent containment despite conditions that led to a Red Flag Warning being issued from noon to 8 p.m.
Firefighters continued to suppress active fire behavior on the east and southeast flanks of the fire. The three heavy helicopters dropping water on hot spots and two single-engine air tankers dropping fire retardant played a critical role again today. Fire crews secured containment lines on the north and west flanks of the fire.
For the second day the fire perimeter did not grow and firefighters held it to 991 acres. The fire is 15 miles north of Rifle, predominately on Bureau of Land Management-administered lands.
Fire investigators were not able to pinpoint the precise cause of the fire. They believe the fire, which started immediately adjacent to Highway 13, was nevertheless human-caused.
A number of local agencies assisted the Upper Colorado River Interagency Unit today. Firefighters will continue to actively suppress the fire tomorrow.
Fire officials remind the public that the dry conditions the area faced during much of the summer are still with us, creating a high fire danger fairly late in the year.
Updated information is available at www.inciweb.org or by calling 970 456-3623.
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