| Contacts: | Contact: Chris Barth, Public Information Officer | |||
| Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit | ||||
| Phone: 970.240.5317 (o) | ||||
| 970.596.0430 (c) |
Several Wildfires Contained, East Coal Creek Fire Continues to Burn (08-20-12)
Montrose, Colo. – Two wildfires were reported within the Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit over the weekend. Both fires were on National Forest System lands and were contained today. The Old Snag Fire was 0.1 acre and located approximately 9 miles northeast of Cedaredge. The cause of the Old Snag Fire is unknown. The lightning-caused Love Fire, located approximately 29 miles west of Montrose, was also contained at 0.1 acre.
The Gravel Pit Fire that started on August 13th was controlled on Saturday at an estimated 0.25 acre. Fire and land managers evaluated the possibilities to manage the Gravel Pit Fire, but determined that conditions were not ideal to achieve resource benefits. Additionally, “due to regional and national fire activity, firefighting resources that would have been assigned to the Gravel Pit Fire now remain available to respond to new wildfires in the area,” said Mike Davis, Fire Management Officer for the Bureau of Land Management. The Gravel Pit Fire was located approximately 7 miles west of Norwood on BLM-managed lands.
The East Coal Creek fire, located in the West Elk Wilderness on National Forest System lands, is currently estimated at 219 acres. The fire grew minimally to the south over the weekend. Rain over the fire this morning helped reduce fire activity today. The East Coal Creek Fire is in difficult terrain and fire managers are utilizing firefighting resources as appropriate given the difficult conditions. One helicopter and crew, along with local firefighting resources and overhead personnel are currently assigned to the fire.
For information on wildfires and restrictions in the area, call the MIFMU Fire Information line (970.240.1070), visit the MIFMU website (http://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/dispatch_centers/r2mtc/), or follow us on Twitter (http://twitter.com/MIFMU) and Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/BLMMontroseFireUnit).
The Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit covers the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison National Forest (USFS), the Gunnison Field Office (BLM), the Uncompahgre Field Office (BLM), Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park (NPS), Curecanti National Recreation Area (NPS), and public lands in the counties of Delta, Gunnison, Hinsdale, Montrose, Ouray, and San Miguel.
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