Federal Fire Officials Plan Long-Range Prescribed Burning Objective
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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. – Federal fire officials from the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit plan to ignite Western Slope prescribed fires through March.
The fires will target slash piles remaining from ongoing fuel reduction, cutting projects. Officials will ignite fires when conditions meet specific guidelines for safety and smoke dispersion.
“The remaining slash presents a hazard for future wildfires and needs to be cleaned up to complete the project,” said Jeff Phillips, fire management specialist with the Bureau of Land Management. “Fire officials will ignite the slash piles in the Horse Thief Canyon area and piles 12 miles south of Gateway when conditions specified in the prescription for the fires are met.”
While firefighters will ignite the fires with consideration to smoke dispersion, some smoke may remain in the area. Phillips warns that fire smoke may affect your health and recommends those wishing to know more, visit http://bit.ly/1SbMdQT .
For more information on these prescribed fires, contact Jeff Phillips at (970) 244-3000.
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.