Firefighters took advantage of favorable weather conditions Thursday to secure fire lines and mop up hot spots along two wildfires that broke out this week in Southwest Colorado.
After four days of red flag warnings, firefighters were given cooler temperatures and calmer winds Thursday, with temperatures staying below 80 degrees and winds of 10 to 15 mph from the southwest.
But a fire weather watch will go into effect Friday for the region.
“We are by no means out of a bad situation in terms of the fire weather situation,” Darren Clabo, the meteorologist for the incident response team, said during a virtual news conference Thursday. “There’s absolutely no precipitation in sight.”
The East Canyon Fire had grown to 2,764 acres with zero containment as of Thursday. The blaze sparked to life Sunday, one day after a lightning storm moved through the region. It was burning along the Montezuma-La Plata County line, south of U.S. Highway 160.
More than three dozen homes were evacuated earlier this week. But evacuations were lifted Thursday in Montezuma and La Plata counties, and those homes were instead placed on pre-evacuation status, meaning those residents can return home but should be prepared to evacuate if severe fire activity resumes. Homes on Road G.3 in Montezuma County remained evacuated because of their proximity to the fire.
The Six Shooter Fire has grown to 224 acres and was 25% contained, according to a news release Thursday morning from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. That blaze also was sparked by the Saturday lightning storm but didn’t roar to life until Tuesday afternoon. It is burning in a remote area south of Durango on the east side of U.S. Highway 550 near Bondad.
No structures have been lost in either fire.
Fire activity on the north edge of the East Canyon Fire has been reduced to “smoldering and creeping,” with occasional isolated tree torching, according to a news release from the Type 2 Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team. Firefighters and engines in that area were mopping up and securing the fire lines, supported by helicopters as needed.
Hot-shot crews were building a fire line around the western perimeter, working their way south.
On the east edge, crews widened control lines by gradually burning out fuels between the main body of the fire and Cherry Creek Road (County Road 105). Firefighters were working to mop up a spot fire that crossed Cherry Creek Road earlier this week, but no new spot fires had been reported.
At the southeast corner, firefighters were allowing the fire to gradually make its way to a bulldozer line that ties in with Cherry Creek Road on the east. Hot-shot crews will begin building fire line by hand to tie in with a control line on the west.
Deputy incident commander Jard Hohn said containment should start to pick up in the next few days. But, there’s been no plan in place to transfer command, given that weather conditions could lead to increased fire activity.
“We do not want to leave a fire that’s going to grow after we leave,” he said.
With winds expected to pick up Friday, fire managers are concerned there could be an uptick in fire activity.
“That can really push this fire across the landscape,” Clabo said. “So we’re monitoring that closely.”
Fire engines have been patrolling through the nights to keep the fire within containment lines, and firefighters have been protecting individual homes and critical infrastructure.
The fire had 245 firefighters, 15 engines, seven pieces of heavy equipment and a “full complement” of air resources available.
The Six Shooter Fire, named after the canyon where it started, grew only 4 acres Wednesday. It is located on Southern Ute Indian reservation lands.
Smoke was visible from Highway 550 and County Road 318.
No homes were in immediate danger, as fire activity remained confined to the canyon. The tribe was working with oil and gas operators in the area to shut-in facilities in an effort to mitigate any potential impacts from those operators to first responders’ ability to contain the fire.
The fire had 105 people assigned to it, and aerial resources were standing by in case needed. Agencies involved included the BIA, Southern Ute Agency Fire Management, Los Pinos Fire Protection District, Durango Fire Protection District, Fort Lewis Mesa Fire Protection District and modules from the states of Colorado and Oklahoma.
