Firefighters successfully contained the 1 to 1½ acre blaze west of Hermosa on Wednesday, as officials predicted.
The fire started Monday afternoon, and over the next few days multiple fire agencies collaborated to contain and suppress it.
On Tuesday, the San Juan Interagency Hotshot crew and a fire crew from the Bayfield-based Columbine Ranger District took over operations from a Los Pinos Fire crew that monitored the fire overnight, said Lorena Williams, spokesperson for the San Juan National Forest.
A Black Hawk helicopter from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control was deployed to make water drops on the fire.
Roughly half the fire was on an open hillside, while the other half was in a drainage filled with hazardous, dead standing trees, she said. Those trees pose a significant risk to firefighters, as they can fall without warning, especially when roots are weakened by fire.
The work was particularly strenuous, Williams said. Because, before direct suppression could begin in that area, crews needed to mitigate the natural debris by felling unstable trees and clearing them from the fire’s edge.
Despite the difficult conditions, crews responded quickly after the fire was reported.
“I think the community should be really proud of its local wild-land firefighting workforce,” Williams said. “It’s early for a fire to kick up in heavy timber like this.”
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
