Fire crews used indirect burnout operations late Thursday to contain east portions of the Draw Fire along existing Forest Service roads near Dolores. The operations increased the fire’s size to 120 acres.
The low- to moderate-intensity fire is burning in ponderosa pines about eight miles northeast of Dolores in the San Juan National Forest.
“If conditions continue to offer ideal burning conditions, every opportunity will be made to continue firing/burnout operations,” said Patrick Seekins, Dolores District fire management officer with the San Juan National Forest, in a news release.
Isolated storms are forecast for the next couple of days, which could diminish the opportunity for burn operations; however, fire crews will continue to patrol the fire’s boundaries even if it rains, according to Ann Bond, public affairs specialist with the San Juan National Forest, who issued a news release Friday.
The Draw Fire was started by lightning earlier this week. Firefighters are working to confine the fire within set boundaries.
Firefighters and fire engines are on scene. Crews are focusing operations and patrols along the Boggy Draw Road (Forest Road 527) and Forest Road 528, and will continue to patrol as long as the fire is active.
Smoke is visible from the Dolores Norwood Road (Forest Road 526). There is a chance that smoke may settle at night in Dolores and surrounding areas, according to the news release. Travel should not be affected on roads in the area.
Some sections of the Boggy Draw trail system may be temporarily closed if fire is directly adjacent to any particular trail. Hikers and others using the trails are asked to respect all signs related to temporary closures of trails for their personal safety. Roadside signs will be posted alerting the public to fire operations.
With the Forest Service at a Planning Level 5 nationally, firefighting resources are focused on fighting several fires in the West; therefore, a very conservative approach is being taken with the Draw Fire, Bond said in a news release.
The fire began Sept. 1 or 2 from a lightning strike. It was first reported on Sept. 5 by a McPhee Campground host who spotted it from the McPhee Overlook. By Sept. 6 it had burned 12 acres; by Sept. 7, it grew to 55 acres, then to 120 acres by Sept. 8.
