A small brush fire that broke out along roadside landscaping Wednesday in the 700 block of Florida Road illustrates just how fire-prone and parched vegetation is getting in Durango.
The fire, which was quickly contained by Durango Fire Protection District, broke out at 6:19 p.m. and burned a patch of landscaping about 20 feet long and 10 feet wide on the east side of the Florida Road embankment, northeast of Chapman Hill.
It’s unclear what ignited the fire.
“I didn’t witness the start. I saw smoke billowing, and I got the garden hose as fast as I could,” said Daniel Stewart, who lives a few houses south of the small fire.
DFPD Fire Marshal Karola Hanks said despite brief respites from light rains the past two weekends, the drought is creating dangerous conditions even in town.
“The small amount of rain we’ve had has done nothing to change the drought conditions we have been in,” she said. “Now, we’re in a time when we’re projected to be dry for a while, and it’s going to get even drier.”
parmijo@durangoherald.com
