Firefighters planning to burn slash piles near Eby Creek
Organization
BLM Office:
Media Contact:
SILT, Colo. – Smoke may be visible from Eagle, Gypsum and the I-70 corridor over the next several weeks as crews from Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management begin burning slash piles generated from a Bureau of Land Management fuels reduction project.
Firefighters are planning to burn 400 slash piles across 10 acres adjacent to the southern end of the Eby Creek Subdivision in Eagle County. Crews generated the slash piles from a pinyon-juniper thinning project in 2016 designed to reduce fuels for wildfires. The piles were allowed to dry and are now ready to burn.
“We look for days when conditions are good for safe, effective burning and dispersing smoke away from area communities,” said Chad Sewell, fuels specialist for the Bureau of Land Management Colorado River Valley Field Office.
The work is part of the larger Eagle Valley Hazardous Fuels Treatment Project, which is using a variety of techniques to reduce the risk of larger wildfires by reducing the amount of vegetation available to burn. The work also improves forest health and wildlife habitat.
Anyone with health conditions that may be affected by short durations of smoke should contact Chad Sewell at (970) 876-9030. Prescribed fire smoke may affect your health. For more information, see https://www.colorado.gov/
The Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire and Aviation Management Unit (UCR) includes Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service firefighting resources that cover 5.8 million acres along the Interstate 70, Colorado River and Roaring Fork River corridors from the Continental Divide to the Utah state line. The UCR includes the White River National Forest and the BLM’s Colorado River Valley and Grand Junction field offices. The UCR cooperates with other federal and state agencies, local communities, and fire departments on a wide range of activities including fuels treatments, fire prevention, and suppression.
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.