The Elkhorn and Rim Road fires in La Plata County in Southern Colorado, which both ignited on Saturday, continue to burn and have forced at least 52 homes to evacuate, according to county officials.
The National Weather Service Grand Junction office issued a hazardous weather outlook on Monday morning for much of the Western Slope due to a spate of fires burning across the region. The outlook forecasts hot and dry conditions, with hazy to smoky skies likely from wildfires.
However, Colorado’s health department has not issued any air quality alerts as of Monday at 3 p.m.
Elkhorn fire
The Elkhorn fire started after a partially-built home caught fire and ignited scrubby vegetation nearby, according to the Durango Police Department. It’s currently around 344 acres and zero percent contained, according to the National Interagency Fire Center, although the fire is currently moving away from homes and infrastructure.
The fire triggered an evacuation order for 41 homes, with 34 additional homes on standby, according to Ted Holteen, a public affairs official with La Plata County. He said he’d be “very surprised” if the county orders additional evacuations, but it’s possible.
The county is updating evacuation maps on its website, and residents can sign up for the county’s emergency management system here.
A shelter set up for evacuees was closed after a lack of demand, Holteen said, but the county could reopen it if needed.
Nearly 200 crew members are fighting the blaze, and doused it with more than 138,000 gallons of fire retardant over the weekend, according to an official update.
Lorena Williams, a public information officer with the San Juan National Forest, said that crews have been able to hold the fire’s western side, and the fire continues to spread east deeper into national forest land.
Hotshot firefighting crews are building breaks to contain it, while multiple helicopters are ferrying crews to prevent the fire from spreading west into homes and communities.
Some afternoon rain may temper the fire’s growth, but “gusty and erratic wind” is expected in the afternoon with lightning showers, officials said. An expected increase in humidity could also help contain the fire.
Rim Road fire
The Rim Road fire, on Southern Ute Indian tribal land in southern La Plata County, has burned around 114 acres near oil and gas operations and caused evacuations of 11 homes. As of Monday afternoon, however, authorities lifted evacuation orders for nearby residents.
About 100 responders are working on the fire, which is now 25 percent contained. Over the weekend, several operators paused oil and gas work as a precaution, according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, although they’re expected to resume Tuesday.
A spokesperson for the Southern Ute Indian Tribe did not immediately return a request for comment.
