The Hermosa Cliff Fire was 100% contained as of Saturday, said Lorena Williams, spokesperson for the San Juan National Forest.
“We put it to bed, which is great,” she said. “We had a really robust response from our local resources, and had a lot of crews staged here, in and around Durango, and in the surrounding area to respond.”
The fire, located within the 416 Fire burn scar north of Durango, began Wednesday and grew to 18 acres by Thursday. It was around 80% contained by Friday evening, and fully contained by Saturday after reaching about 20 acres at its largest.
Crews descended the mountain Sunday evening. The area will continue to be monitored using infrared, Williams said.
About 40 firefighters from several highly specialized firefighting crews were assigned to the incident Thursday, she said.
Responding crews included the San Juan National Forest Interagency Hotshot Crew; the Columbine Wildland Fire Module, a local team that also brings drone expertise; and the Burning Mountain Wildland Fire Module from the Colorado River Fire Protection District.
Assistance from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention, Mesa Verde Helitack and Durango Helitack was instrumental in dousing the blaze, Williams said.
“The aviation support is really critical,” she said. “(They) get water delivered up to the fire with buckets to allow firefighters to mix that in and really extinguish the fire. It takes more than splashing water on it.”
Lightning was confirmed as the official cause of the fire.
epond@durangoherald.com
