U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT NEWS RELEASE
Winnemucca District Office
Winnemucca District Office
| Contacts: | Chris Rose | , 775-623-1541 | , crose@blm.gov |
Fires Winding Down on Winnemucca District, Fire Information Meeting to be held August 17
Winnemucca, Nev.—After nearly two weeks of intense fire activity that burned close to 250,000 acres in Nevada, the Winnemucca District has begun to get back to other tasks as crews work to secure containment lines and conduct mop up operations.
Due to the large amount of fires in the area, the BLM Winnemucca District will be hosting a public meeting on Friday, August 17 to provide information. The meeting will be held from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. in the Comstock Room of the Winnemucca Convention Center, 50 W. Winnemucca Blvd.
“I want to thank the firefighters and others from our federal, state and local partners who have assisted us with suppressing the fires,” said BLM Winnemucca District Manager Gene Seidlitz. “I’d also like to thank the communities affected for their support and patience as we worked to contain the fires as quickly as possible.”
Although many of the fires have been contained or are close to being contained, public land users should be aware of safety hazards that exist in burned areas including snags, standing trees that may have burned or had their root structure weakened by fire that can fall without warning, rocks that may have become dislodged or remote pockets of fuel that can smolder for weeks after a fire. Continued dry conditions and weather increase the chances that there will be more fire in the future so people should be careful if they are working with open flames or campfires and should avoid parking vehicles in long grass.
Fire Information
The Holloway Fire was started by lightning on August 5 and has burned 436,560 acres. It is currently 71 percent contained. Crews have completed a line around the south end of the Holloway Fire in Nevada and are working to limit acres burned on the north side of the fire in Oregon near Oregon Canyon by constructing additional containment lines.
The Hanson Fire, located near Paradise Valley, Nevada, has burned 12,469 acres and is 85 percent contained. It was started by lightning on August 10.
The Craine Creek Fire, located approximately 3-4 miles southwest of Knott Creek Ranch, has burned approximately 600 acres. It has been contained.
The Buckskin Fire, located 14 miles south of McDermitt, Nevada, burned 10,737 acres. It started on August 13 and is considered controlled.
The Long Canyon Fire, located 10 miles southwest of McDermitt, Nevada, burned 36,904 acres and has been contained. It was started by lightning on August 10.
Additional information about these fires can be found at www.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.