Imperial Valley Press

US agency to pay for 11,000 miles of fuel breaks in 6 states

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PORTLAND, Ore. ( AP) — The Bureau of Land Management has announced plans to fund 11,000 miles of strategic fuel breaks in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, California, Nevada and Utah in an e ort to help control wildfires.

The fuel breaks are intended to prop up fi re mitigation efforts and help protect fi refi ghters, communitie­s and natural resources, The Oregonian reported Saturday.

According to the BLM, wildfires are becoming bigger and more frequent across the Great Basin states. Between 2009 and 2018, more than 13.5 million acres of BLM land burned in the project area.

“Recovering from the devastatin­g effects of wildfires can take decades in the rugged, high- desert climate of the Great Basin. These tools will help fi refi ghters contain fires when they break out,” said acting Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Land and Minerals Management Casey Hammond in a news release. “That’s why creating fuel breaks is incredibly important to the entire basin, the people who live in these communitie­s, and our wildland firefighte­rs.”

Fuel breaks are intended to break up fi re fuels by creating breaks in vegetation that slow a blaze’s progress. By implementi­ng them strategica­lly, they help firefighte­rs control the spread of fire, and can protect homes and resources.

Some scientists debate the effectiven­ess of fuel breaks, raising questions about whether these efforts are worth funding.

But the BLM reports that assessment­s of more than 1,200 fuel breaks found that 78% of them helped control wildfire and 84% helped change fi re behavior. According to the news release, “the BLM has extensivel­y documented that fuel breaks, and other types of fuel treatments, are e ective.”

Jenni f er Jones, a spokeswoma­n for the BLM, said the program will help streamline the implementa­tion process by reducing or eliminatin­g the need for environmen­tal analysis.

The timeline for implementa­tion and the location of fuel breaks will depend on what offices develop plans and apply for funding.

Because BLM offices have not requested funds, said Jones, the BLM can’t provide a figure for what the plan will cost.

“Costs will depend on how many fuel breaks are actually constructe­d, what types of fuel breaks are constructe­d, where they are constructe­d, whether they are constructe­d by employees or contractor­s,” Jones said.

The public can comment on the plan for the next 30 days, after which the BLM will make final decisions.

 ?? AP PHOTO/DON RYAN ?? In this Aug. 5, 2015, file photo, a wildfire consumes sagebrush as firefighte­rs let it march down to the Columbia River on the edge of Roosevelt, Wash.
AP PHOTO/DON RYAN In this Aug. 5, 2015, file photo, a wildfire consumes sagebrush as firefighte­rs let it march down to the Columbia River on the edge of Roosevelt, Wash.

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