Public meeting in Susanville on proposal to build fuel breaks on public land
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SUSANVILLE, Calif. -- The Bureau of Land Management will share information and accept written comments about a proposal to construct a system of fuel breaks to enhance the ability of wildland firefighters to control rangeland wildfires, at a public meeting on Wednesday, July 10, from 5 to 7 p.m., at the BLM Eagle Lake Field Office, 2550 Riverside Dr. in Susanville.
The BLM on June 21 released a Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Fuel Breaks in the Great Basin for a 45-day public comment period. This draft Programmatic EIS analyzes a system of up to 11,000 miles of strategically placed fuel breaks to control wildfires within a 223 million-acre area that includes portions of Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah.
Large, unbroken swaths of grasses, brush and other vegetation have provided a continuous supply of fuel for recent catastrophic rangeland wildfires in the Great Basin states. The concept behind fuel breaks is to break up or fragment continuous fuels by reducing vegetation in key locations. When a wildfire burns into a fuel break, the flame lengths decrease and its progress slows, making it safer and easier for firefighters to control. The fuel breaks would be strategically placed along roads and rights-of-way on BLM-administered lands.
The BLM is seeking public input to ensure that all aspects of developing a system of fuel breaks are analyzed. An electronic copy of the Draft Programmatic EIS and associated documents is available on the BLM Land Use Planning and NEPA register at https://go.usa.gov/xnQcG.
For comments to be considered, they must be received by the BLM no later than midnight MST on August 5, 2019. Additional information and a complete public meeting schedule is available at https://www.blm.gov/press-release/blm-analyzes-11000-miles-fuel-breaks-great-basin-combat-wildfires.
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.