|
As Americans look forward to celebrating the 4th of July holiday this weekend, public land managers across the country are busily reminding people of the critical fire restrictions in place to protect public safety, property, and natural areas from the threat of wildfire.
Beginning today, several Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field offices are increasing seasonal fire restrictions (including banning campfires, barbeques, or open fires) that will remain in effect until further notice due to extreme temperatures and very dry fuels across many Western states. Fire management officials are also reminding people about existing prohibitions for the use of fireworks on public lands.
The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) says that 47 wildfires have burned 667,566 acres in 12 states already, and more than 7,200 wildland firefighters and support personnel are currently assigned to incidents.
BLM Utah State Fire Management Officer Chris Delaney said, “This fire season has ramped up so quickly that we are already concerned about burning out our firefighters and running out of resources. Already this year, about 370 wildfires have been human-caused in Utah. This means that 76% of the wildfires could have been prevented. We need everyone to use Fire Sense and follow the current fire restrictions to help protect communities and prevent devastating wildfires.”
|
It's clear that public land management plans are inadequate and have to address the natural and cultural assets of this special place. The Bureau of Land Management, which manages 893,800 surface acres of public land and 1.3 million acres of subsurface mineral acres of public resources in our corner of the state, last revised its management plan for the Dillon Planning Area in 2006. We live in a drastically different time now than we did then, and that management plan simply cannot keep up with the needs and demands of today and beyond."
