Firefighters responded Saturday to three fast-moving wildfires northeast of Pleasant View near the Montezuma and Dolores county line that sent up a massive column of smoke and had grown to a total of 5,800 acres as of 8:50 p.m.
Evacuations were ordered along Lone Dome Road, Bradfield Bridge Campground and Forest Service Road 521 up to McPhee Dam. Crews closed Bradfield Bridge Campground, which included Forest Service Road 504 south to the base of McPhee Dam, and were doing a safety sweep on roads 521 and 504, said Lorena Williams, spokeswoman with the San Juan National Forest.
“If you are in that area (Bradfield Bridge Campground), LEAVE NOW, using roads to head west out of the area,” a Facebook post by the Montezuma County said.
Evacuees needing shelter were being directed to the Pleasant View Fire Station, 15235 Road CC.
No structures were immediately threatened.
Strong winds, high temperatures and dry conditions were driving the blazes and preventing firefighters from slowing the spread.
The 4,777-acre Ferris Fire and the 387-acre Doe Fire were burning in the Glade area of the San Juan National Forest. A third fire, the Far Draw Fire located 2 miles east of National Forest Service Road 506 and 504 intersection, had scorched 649 acres.
The Doe Canyon Fire was burning west of National Forest Service Road 506 and 504 intersection. The Ferris Fire is located southeast of Bradfield Bridge Campground along the southern portion of Highway 504.
“Deliberate efforts are being made to protect lives, property and ecosystems, while ensuring firefighter safety,” a Forest Service press release sent at 7:41 p.m. said. “An indirect strategy is being used to extinguish all three fires as quickly as possible.”
The fires are believed to be lightning-caused, though no official cause has been confirmed, Williams said.
The news release said engines, crews, air attack and a Type 1 helicopter “are in place.” Large air tankers are dropping fire retardant, and additional engines, crews, Type 1 helicopter, Type 3 helicopter and miscellaneous support personnel are on order. The San Juan Type 3 Incident Management Team took command of the fires as of 6 p.m. Saturday.
“We had firefighters on scene of these incidents earlier in the day, but we've been forced to pull resources off the line due to extreme fire behavior and very dangerous conditions,” Williams said around 6 p.m. on Saturday.
She said extremely high winds forced aircraft to be grounded, and a team in Dolores is planning how to extinguish the fires.
“With the extreme fire behavior, we're not able to put firefighters on the ground to fight fires at this time,” she said.
The blazes erupted after the USDA Forest Service issued an extreme fire risk level warning for eastern Utah and western Colorado on Saturday morning.
“While much of Southwest Colorado received measurable rainfall Friday, these isolated storms do not have lasting impacts when followed by days of high temperatures and very high winds,” they said.
The Forest Service added in a separate post that multiple agencies across Southwest Colorado have been responding to lightening-caused fires since yesterday, and more are expected to ignite.
A Temporary Flight Restriction has been implemented over the fire area.
This is a developing story. Check back with www.the-journal.com for updates.
bduran@the-journal.com
