U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
| Contacts: | Michael Blakeman (719) 852-6212 |
Risk of wildland fire on the rise in SLV (06-26-12)
MONTE VISTA, Colo. – Fire danger continues to rise in the Upper Rio Grande Basin as temperatures stay high and the relative humidity stays low. The risk of a large wildland fire has increased even further from recent human activity.
Ten of the twelve fires the San Luis Valley Interagency Fire Unit has responded to this summer have been human caused. Recently, four human caused fires have occurred along roads in the South Fork area where there is a great risk of damage to property. Fortunately, the South Fork Volunteer Fire Department has responded quickly to contain and extinguish these fires while they were still small.
The San Luis Valley Public Lands Center requests that everyone take extra precaution to prevent a human caused wildland fire by abiding by the Stage II fire restrictions issued on Tuesday, June 26. Additionally, the Public Lands Center asks that people report any suspicious activity that may lead to a wildland fire to their local sheriff’s department by calling 911.
Ten years ago, the human caused Million Fire burned over 9,000 acres, destroyed 11 homes and damaged six others. Please help prevent that from happening again.
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.
1803 West Hwy 160 Monte Vista, CO 81144