Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Office
| Contacts: | Sarah Beckwith 307-347-5207 |
Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Hosts Mississippi Hotshot Crew
Twenty new faces you may have seen in the Bighorn Basin this summer belong to a Bureau of Land Management (BLM) hotshot crew, here for the fire season all the way from Jackson, Miss. Worland will serve as home away from home for the hotshots while they fight fires throughout the west and assist BLM with hazardous fuels reduction projects.
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Firefighting is their top priority, however, and the hotshots have already fought fires in Wyo., Colo., Idaho and Utah. "It's more logistically efficient and less expensive for the hotshot crew to be stationed somewhere in the west during fire season rather than travel back and forth between Jackson, Miss. and the big western fires," said Fire Management Officer Chuck Russell. "We have begun a partnership with the Eastern States BLM and part of this partnership includes hosting the Jackson Hotshots through the summer months here in the Wind River/Bighorn Basin District."
A hotshot crew is a 20-person organized crew used primarily for wildfire suppression, fuels reduction, and other fire management duties. They perform the same duties as hand crews, however, they are very specialized and are generally placed in the most rugged terrain, in the most active and difficult areas of wildfires. Hotshot crews are used mostly on large fires, but can also be used for initial attack on smaller fires.
Jackson, Miss., is home to the only BLM hotshot crew east of the Mississippi River. Since being formed in 1997, the Jackson Hotshots have fought disastrous wildfires throughout the nation. In addition, they have been called upon to assist with national emergencies including Ground Zero after 9/11 and search and recovery operations from the Space Shuttle Columbia. The Hotshots were also available for recovery efforts following several devastating hurricanes in the southeast over the past several years, including Katrina and Rita.
"The Jackson Hotshots are a well-trained, motivated crew that has helped us accomplish a great deal this summer," Russell said. "They contribute a lot to our fire management program and I'm sure we will build on this partnership for years to come. If you see them in your community, please welcome them and help them feel at home away from home.”
For more information about the project, please contact Chuck Russell at 307-347-5100.
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. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. In Fiscal Year 2012, activities on public lands generated $4.6 billion in revenue, much of which was shared with the States where the activities occurred. In addition, public lands contributed more than $112 billion to the U.S. economy and helped support more than 500,000 jobs.
Wind River/Bighorn Basin District Office 101 South 23rd Worland, WY 82401-0119