A wildfire burning northeast of Durango is believed to be 50% contained as of Wednesday morning, said La Plata County spokeswoman Megan Graham.
Aerial crews spent Tuesday night forming a perimeter around the wildfire, called the 86 Fire, north of county roads 245 and 502. The majority of the work Wednesday will involve hand crews continuing to dig lines to contain the blaze.
“That’s about halfway done, so that’s where that 50% containment number comes from,” Graham said.
Residents east of Helen’s Corner, including the Tween Lakes and Enchanted Forest subdivisions, remained under a pre-evacuation notice as of Wednesday morning, Graham said.
A Type 2 helicopter is available for use Wednesday, if needed. A fixed-wing air tanker is also available, but Graham said there were no plans as of Wednesday morning to use it.
Graham said it is imperative people do not fly drones as crews battle the blaze.
“If drones are flying in the area, our fire teams can’t fly,” she said.
Crews were to conduct an aerial survey around 11 a.m. to get a better idea of the size of the fire. Best estimates show the blaze has consumed about 40 acres, Graham said.
Weather conditions Wednesday are expected to be dry and windy, posing a risk the fire could pick up in intensity, Graham said.
“Clearly, our team is keeping a close eye on that, and will adjust their response accordingly,” she said.
According to the National Weather Service, a red flag warning is in effect from noon to 9 p.m. Wednesday. During this time, highs could near 80 degrees with winds gusts as high as 35 mph. A fire watch then takes effect for the region from noon to 9 p.m. Thursday.
“Conditions will become favorable for the rapid ignition, growth and spread of fires,” the NWS said in a statement. “Agricultural burning is strongly discouraged.”
It was reported the U.S. Forest Service would take command Tuesday night, but Graham clarified Wednesday morning it is an interagency effort, with a Forest Service employee as the commander.
The fire is on Bureau of Land Management lands, so it is technically BLM’s fire, she said.
Upper Pine River Fire Protection District Fire Chief Bruce Evans said Tuesday night the fire was caused accidentally by someone using an electric saw.
The fire district posted to Facebook on Tuesday night the fire was “started with a simple mistake, cutting pipe with a circular saw, then turning your back for a second.”
“Just a guy doing an honest day’s work and not realizing the fire danger,” the post said.
The fire broke out around 3 p.m., and an evacuation notice went out shortly after, but was later downgraded to a pre-evacuation notice as crews managed to get the blaze to a stable position where it no longer posed an immediate risk to homes in the area.
“We decided to evacuate based on the fact that COVID stay at home had more people in the subdivisions than normal and getting 300-plus residents down two lanes on C.R. 240 with flames on the ridge not safe,” Upper Pine Fire posted.
In addition to Upper Pine, the Forest Service, Colorado Division of Prevention and Control, and San Juan Hot Shots responded to the blaze.
“If it wasn’t for a swift air attack and backup (from) our crews with the San Juan Hot Shots there would be a ton of heartache in Tween and Enchanted Forest,” Upper Pine said.
jromeo@durangoherald.com
