BLM Bishop Field Office partners with communities to reduce wildfire risk
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BISHOP, Calif. – The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Bishop Field Office recently sponsored Chipper Days events for homeowners in the communities of 40 Acres, near Bishop, CA, and Granite View, near Lone Pine, CA. Fire crews from the Bishop Field Office and Inyo National Forest participated by bringing and operating a chipper to remove vegetation cut by the homeowners from their properties. These events are supported by funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to reduce wildfire risk.
Chipper Days encourage homeowners to do their part in removing hazardous fuels on their properties to provide defensible space in the event of a wildfire. The first 30 feet around a home are the most important for structure survivability in the event of a wildfire.
“The Bishop Field Office is committed to working in partnership with private landowners in eastern Sierra communities to make their communities more fire safe,” said Sherri Lisius, Bishop Field Manager. “We appreciate the strong participation from the homeowners to reduce fuels on private property.”
In addition to the Chipper Days, this spring, the Bishop Field Office completed new fuel breaks around the Granite View area to provide strategic locations to control potential wildfires and protect the community. Like many other communities in the eastern Sierra, this one is bordered by a mix of public lands managed by the BLM and the Forest Service. Both agencies worked together to implement fuel breaks that tie into each other to provide better protection. The Bishop Field Office maintains fuel breaks like this one in neighboring communities throughout the eastern Sierra that are identified as being at high risk of being impacted by wildfire.
As a result of Chipper Days and fuel breaks, communities in and around BLM lands will experience a reduced likelihood of loss of life, property and community infrastructure from wildfires.
Future chipping events are being planned for the communities of June Lake, Walker and Mono City. If you have questions or would like your community to participate in chipping events to mitigate against wildland fire, please contact the Bishop Field Office at (760) 872-5000.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land located primarily in 12 western states, including Alaska, on behalf of the American people. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. Our mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of America’s public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations.