A fire in Yellow Jacket Canyon southwest of Lewis on Monday reached 395 acres.
The blaze, dubbed the Yellow Jacket Fire, was burning on private land and partially on Canyons of the Ancients National Monument. It is west of the intersection of County Roads 19 and V and is near farms. The fire was growing, but no structures or residences were threatened, Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin said Sunday.
As of 10 p.m. Sunday, the fire was at 378 acres, up from 80 acres at 6:15 p.m., according to the Durango Interagency Fire Dispatch. Lightning from a storm Saturday night was the suspected cause.
Smoke from the fire, northwest of Cortez, was reported about 1 p.m. A rising plume of smoke was visible from Cortez, Dolores and Dove Creek.
BLM, San Juan National Forest and local firefighting departments are responding to the scene, and the strategy is full suppression.
Because of its remote location, air support was called to drop fire retardant, Nowlin said. The fire burned in pinon-juniper vegetation and moved northeast.
High winds pushed the fire. A red flag warning was in effect for Montezuma County.
Seven wildfires were reported in the area Sunday, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center.
The Spring Fire burned on Canyons of the Ancients National Monument south of County Road N. It reached 155 acres Monday and was under a full suppression plan. Nowlin said it also was being attacked from the air and from crews on the ground.
A Kinder Morgan compression station is about a half-mile north of the Spring Fire, and vegetation was cleared around a nearby telecommunication tower.
A 1-acre wildfire burned in Beaver Creek, northeast of Dolores on the San Juan National Forest. The fire was discovered 3:13 p.m. Sunday, and was managed as full suppression. The cause was unknown.
