Colorado Wildfire Doubles, Forcing Evacuations, Weather Makes Fighting Blaze Difficult

A largely unchecked, growing wildfire burning in southwestern Colorado nearly doubled in size overnight Sunday, forcing hundreds of evacuations. Officials said dry and windy conditions, that were expected to persist, prompted the fresh round of evacuations.

The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team said the so-called 416 Fire had burned nearly 17,000 acres by Sunday morning and only about 10 percent of the fire, located north of Durango, was curbed.

Residents of 675 homes were ordered to evacuate after the fire nearly doubled in size overnight to 26 square miles, the authorities said.

La Plata County spokeswoman Megan Graham told the Durango Herald a total of 2,156 homes were ordered to be evacuated as of Sunday afternoon. Graham added the residents were informed about the evacuation via calls to their phones, text message and emails.

The fire made its way to North Buck Creek and the Buck Creek drainage Sunday, and grew to 16,766 acres. Currently, it continues to progress through Hermosa Creek drainage, Durango Herald reported.

It burned with wind gusts of up to 35 to 40 mph, fire officials said, and intensified near the Lower Hermosa Campground and burned conifer stands on Sunday.

The combination of weather and fuel conditions created the potential for significant fire growth; hence, a red flag warning was in place from 10 a.m. EDT to 10 p.m. EDT on Sunday.

According to Inciweb, an interagency fire report, no structures were damaged so far but the fire was a few hundred yards from homes.

“The terrain is rough and inaccessible in many areas,” the report said.

The report also stated June 30 was the estimated date for containment.

Fire information office Shawn Bawden said seven helicopters helped 813 firefighters battling the fire.

“Fire-fighters will be here as long as it takes to get the job done,” he said adding officials are preparing to battle the blaze for a long time.

Fire official said aircrafts were actively dropping water and flame retardant Sunday evening.

According to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, an air quality health advisory was also extended due to unhealthy levels of smoke Sunday.

Fire officials do not think it was likely the 416 Fire will merge with the Burro Fire, which is burning 10 miles to the west near Dolores, said Kelsey Griffee, public information officer for the 416 Fire, adding a separate camp will be set up for management of the Burro Fire.

The Burro fire prompted the United States Forest Service officials to close part of the Colorado trail in the San Juan National Forest on Saturday.

According to an aerial survey, the 416 Fire had burned about 9,000 acres by early Saturday. The cause of the fire, which started June 1 in the San Juan National Forest, has not been determined, reported Las Vegas review journal.

A red flag warning of extreme fire danger due to extreme drought has been issued to the Four Corners region of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah by the National Weather Service, Reuters reported.