Firefighters were able to keep the Six Shooter Fire burning near Bondad within its 220-acre confines Wednesday, according to Southern Ute Indian Tribe spokeswoman Lindsay Box.
The Six Shooter Fire broke out Tuesday afternoon near County Road 310, across from the landfill, on SUIT land about 15 miles south of Durango. By Tuesday evening, it had grown to 75 acres, requiring aerial crews to be diverted from other burns in the region.
Overnight, the fire had reportedly grown to 220 acres.
But through the work of on-the-ground crews and aerial attacks, Box said late Wednesday the Six Shooter Fire did not grow in size throughout the day.
“I really attribute that to the resources working this fire,” she said.
Box said fire crews were able to reach 25% containment as of Wednesday evening. The cause of the fire has been determined as lightning from a Saturday thunderstorm, which sparked several wildfires in the region.
A Durango Interagency Type 3 team took command of the fire Wednesday. Box said the plan for Thursday is much of the same: Ground crews will continue to dig lines to secure the perimeter and aerial attacks will focus on the interior burn area.
As of Wednesday evening, no homes were at risk, and the only structures in the area that could potentially be impacted were oil and gas facilities. Box said those facilities were closed Tuesday. No damages or injuries have been reported.
Also, there were no evacuation or pre-evacuation notices in place as of Wednesday evening, Box said. But, residents are encouraged to sign up for CodeRED Emergency Alerts for those notices.
Smoke is visible from U.S. Highway 550 and County Road 318, which may cause health problems. The public can view air quality conditions through the tribe’s monitoring system at https://bit.ly/3ee17XN.
Multiple agencies have joined the fight against the Six Shooter Fire, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Southern Ute Agency Fire Management, Los Piños Fire Protection District, Durango Fire Protection District, Florida Mesa Fire Protection District and modules from the state of Colorado and Oklahoma.
The Six Shooter Fire is one of several active blazes in the region, including the East Canyon Fire west of Durango and the Loading Pen Fire north of Dolores.
The National Weather Service is not issuing a red flag warning for Thursday, for first time this week. The NWS says Thursday will be sunny with a high of 79, with winds between 5 to 15 mph.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
