Firefighters contained a 4-acre wildfire Tuesday near the Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park on Lightner Creek Road (County Road 207) west of Durango.
About 40 mobile homes in the Lightner Creek Mobile Home Park were placed on pre-evacuation notice, meaning the 85 residents were instructed to be prepared to leave at any time. The notice was lifted at 2:09 p.m.
As of 1:30 p.m., there were 53 firefighters on scene from DFPD, the Division of Fire Prevention and Control, and the U.S. Forest Service. Durango Fire Deputy Chief of Operations Michael Krupa said firefighters had secured a containment line and wrapped hoses around the footprint of the fire.
The blaze was fully contained by Tuesday evening.
A resident of the property that abuts the mobile home park to the northwest was conducting an intentional burn when the fire seemingly got out of control, Krupa said. The formal cause of the blaze remained under investigation.
It was unclear whether the resident had obtained a burn permit, however Krupa said that all burn permits had been suspended as of 7 a.m. Tuesday as a result of high winds.
DFPD was dispatched at 11:43 a.m. to reports of a brush fire that was “growing rapidly.” The fire was moving uphill and structures in the immediate vicinity were threatened.
“It's in oak brush and grass-oak brush,” Black said. “It's on the bottom third of a slope right outside the trailer park, so it's got a lot of potential to get worse today with the forecasted winds.”
Lightner Creek Road remained open as of 2 p.m., but residents were asked to avoid the area to allow firefighters to operate safely.
The fire broke out on private land and was threatening federal land, Krupa said.
Residents of the mobile home park sat in cars and on porches as firefighters worked just outside the park’s boundary.
Reed Thompson, who lives in the park, said the neighbor was also burning on Monday. He said he and the neighbor got into an argument.
“It was super windy and we told him to stop burning,” Thompson said. “And they said, ‘Oh, well we know what we’re doing.’”
The mobile home park has been beset with chronic infrastructure problems, which have periodically left residents without running water.
“This trailer park doesn't need another situation,” Thompson said.
Winds were sustained at 5 to 10 mph at 1:45 p.m., with gusts reaching 20 mph.
Residents were asked to avoid calling 911 and to instead keep an eye on local media and La Plata County social media platforms for updates.
Residents are encouraged to register for CodeRED through the county’s website at co.laplata.co.us under the “Emergency Management” tab. Residents can also receive updates by calling the county’s Community Call Line at 385-8700.
rschafir@durangoherald.com
