A rapidly moving wildfire was burning out of control Thursday night on the west side of Sleeping Ute Mountain.
Fire crews from Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service and Mesa Verde National Park have joined Bureau of Indian Affairs crews to help fight the fire.
The plume and smoke from the blaze were visible in Durango and as far away as Bayfield.
Two Single Engine Air Craft (SEAT) have been flown in, and they are dropping fire retardant. By 8 p.m., they had dropped seven loads of slurry 75 to 100 feet above the fire.
The Cortez Fire Department is the ground crew for the SEAT planes at the Cortez Airport.
“We’re filling up two planes multiple times,” said Cortez Fire Chief Jeff Vandevoorde. “Each plane holds 700 gallons of retardant.”
The planes will continue to make drops until nightfall, and then they will be grounded until morning.
Officials and pilots estimate the fire is 300 to 400 acres, burning in rugged, heavily forested terrain. It is zero percent contained, and multiple fire crews are arriving.
“At this point, we have firefighters assessing the fire,” said Lymon Clayton, acting superintendent for the BIA in Towaoc. “Other fire agencies are en route.”
Officials said that a portion of federal fire resources are out of the area fighting fires in California and Oregon, but some firefighters are on the scene.
The fire is approaching the ridge of Ute Mountain and is some distance from a repeater station and cluster of antennas. No residents are threatened, and there are no evacuations at this time, Clayton said. The communication station includes television antennas, a radio antenna and a communications repeater, and it has not been affected.
Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin also said “no homes or structures are in danger.”
There is a 50 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms for Friday, mainly after noon. Some of the storms could produce gusty winds and heavy rain.
Fire officials suspect lightning as a cause of the fire because it began two-thirds up the mountain, on the western flank of Hermano Peak, also known as “The Knees” area of Sleeping Ute Mountain.
The lightning strike may have happened earlier this week and smoldered until winds flared it this afternoon. Tall grasses from recent wet weather may have helped fuel the fire.
