Elko District Office
| Contacts: | Lesli Ellis | , 775-753-0386 | , lellis@blm.gov |
Volunteer firefighting training offered
ELKO, Nev.— The Bureau of Land Management, Elko District is offering training for individuals seeking to become or already are volunteer firefighters in Elko County as part of the Ready Reserve Program.
This program provides wildland fire training to rural fire departments (RFDs) to enhance safety, effectiveness and local response capability in initial attack of wildland fires in or near their communities.
“Rural and community fire departments are an integral and important component of our wildland firefighting community,” said Shane McDonald, Northeast Nevada Interagency Fire Management Officer. “Their first-response capabilities are crucial to the success of our overall ability to protect lives and values at risk. Their services result in a tremendous cost saving to taxpayers.”
Training for new firefighters all the way to Incident Commander, Type 4 is offered at classes in Wells, Spring Creek and Carlin. Classes are free and are scheduled from January to March.
Over time, enhanced training and improved local coordination capabilities will assist the development of local response organizations in many areas. These organizations will be skilled and prepared sufficiently to safely manage low complexity wildfire incidents within their jurisdictions.
For more schedule and class information, please contact Tyler Hecht (775) 753-0309 or Alec Goicoechea (775) 748-4052.
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.
Elko District Office 3900 E. Idaho St Elko, NV 89801