High Desert District
| Contacts: | Shelley Gregory | |||
| 307-315-0612 |
BLM Fighting Bennett Wildfire
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) High Desert District (HDD) is fighting the Bennett wildfire approximately 30 miles northeast of Rawlins, Wyo. in the Bennett Wilderness Study Area.
The wildfire was first reported at 3 p.m. on June 2; lightning is the suspected cause. The fire has burned an estimated 15 to 20 acres of mixed and beetle-killed conifers in steep, rugged terrain on the east side of Seminoe Reservoir.
HDD Assistant Fire Management Officer Michael Spilde states, “We are aggressively pursuing containment due to the weather forecast and the unseasonably dry fuels.”
Dispatched BLM resources include a Type IV and Type VI engine, an air attack plane, a Type 1 and Type 3 helicopter, smokejumpers from Grand Junction, Colo., a Type II initial attack crew of 19, and the Silver State hotshot crew from Carson City, Nev. Two Carbon County engines have also responded.
Outdoor recreationists are urged to use caution or avoid the area entirely since fire behavior can change suddenly and fire spread is unpredictable if high winds develop.
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.
High Desert District 280 Highway 191 North Rock Springs WY 82901