The East Canyon fire, located southeast of Mancos, CO, continued to grow steadily on Monday and is now at around 2,000 acres and is 0% contained. It was estimated at 1,100 acres on Monday morning.
The fire began Sunday afternoon and has prompted evacuations and pre-evacuations in western La Plata County. Areas north and south of US Highway 160 from the top of Mancos Hill to the Target Tree Campground are under evacuation orders. Both sides of the highway from Target Tree Campground to Mile Marker 66 – approximately 3 miles east of the US Highway 160/County Road 105 intersection – are under pre-evacuation notice.
On Sunday, approximately 15 homes along County Road 105 in the Cherry Creek area were under evacuation orders. Those orders remain in place. Those under evacuation orders are asked to leave their residences as soon as possible. Residents in the pre-evacuation areas should be prepared to leave at any time.
The fire spans Bureau of Land Management and private lands in both Montezuma and La Plata Counties.The fire is burning on the east side of Weber Canyon and the west side of Cherry Creek. Objectives given to the team include keeping the fire east of Road 46 (where the Elk Springs and Elk Stream subdivisions are located), south of Highway 160 and west of County Road 105, the Cherry Creek Road.
Aircraft available include three helicopters, a Very Large Airtanker (VLAT), two air tankers,and two Single Engine Airtankers (SEATs). Approximately 60 firefighters are currently on-scene and more resources arrived throughout the day. Due to numerous fire starts from Saturday’s lightning storm, both ground and air resources may be shared with other incidents as needed.
The Durango Interagency Type 3 Team led by Rich Gustafson assumed command of the fire at 6am Monday. The team had been pre-positioned in Hesperus for the past two weeks as they established procedures for fire response and fire camp logistics using appropriate responses for COVID19.
Due to the extreme drought facing southwest Colorado, fire managers have been requesting and coordinating extra resources for several weeks to increase their ability to quickly respond to fires.
As expected, fire activity started increasing around 11:00am yesterday as temperatures began to rise and the winds picked up. The fire kept firefighters in a defensive mode for several hours as it moved down the canyon fingers on the east side of Weber Mountain. Safety Officer Ann Shepherdson who was observing the firefighters at work acknowledged that they engaged the fire when they could and they backed down when conditions dictated.
The fire gained momentum in the early afternoon and made a significant push north towards Highway 160, prompting the closure of Highway 160 around 3:30pm. By evening, fire activity has slowed and the State Patrol reopened the highway.
The fire is currently burning about 1 mile south of the highway; it has not spotted to the north side of the highway. There were several spot fires across County Road 105 (Cherry Creek Rd); firefighters were able to extinguish all of them. No structures have been damaged or lost.
This morning, Tuesday, at 10:00am the fire will be turned over to the Rocky Mountain Team Blue, a Type 2 Team. The decision to go Type 2 is due to the complexity of the fire, rugged terrain, and the number of aerial resources. Their arrival will also free up the Durango Team to deal with new fire starts.
Fire managers would like to remind residents to keep their drones at home. There is a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) for 10 miles around the fire. Due to the steep terrain and limited number of firefighters, a significant number of aerial resources are being used to combat this fire.
“It is imperative that we don’t have to stand down our air resources because a drone is jeopardizing their air space,” said Connie Clementson, Field Office Manager for the Tres Rios Field Office. “We appreciate the public’s assistance and patience during this effort.”
Additional information is available on Inciweb.
To report a fire start, call 911.