BLM Prescribed Burn Planned for Tooele County
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West Valley City, Utah – Fire crews in the Bureau of Land Management’s West Desert District are planning to conduct two prescribed burns of juniper slash in Tooele County beginning Wednesday, May 25.
The Stockton Unit is 29 acres and is five miles southeast of Stockton, on the west bench of the Oquirrh Mountains. The East Onaqui Unit is 261 acres and is six miles southwest of Rush Valley. The burns are expected to each take several days to complete.
The trees were cut in 2014 as part of a project to reduce hazardous fuel accumulations near the communities of Stockton, Ophir and Rush Valley. Scattered juniper cuttings will be burned using a technique called broadcast burning where the fire carries along the ground. Conducting prescribed fire during the cooler, wetter times of the year allows fire managers to safely use fire to remove hazardous fuels.
In addition to community protection, the prescribed fires are expected to restore a functioning fire-adaptive ecosystem, and improve crucial winter wildlife habitat.
Monitoring also shows that fire suppression effectiveness and firefighter safety can be improved by these projects. These burns are among numerous BLM fuel reduction projects that have been implemented in the Rush Valley area over the last decade.
More information about the projects is available at www.utahfireinfo.gov/fuel_projects.html.
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.