Local fire agencies are battling a 2-acre wildfire south of Dolores and east of County Road 30.
About 25 firefighters are working to contain the Lost Canyon Fire, said Dolores Fire Chief Mike Zion. It was reported to dispatch about 10:30 a.m. by a nearby resident.
Two single-engine tanker planes flew in from Grand Junction and dropped water on the blaze. They will be returning for additional drops.
“The strategy is to put the fire out,” Zion said. “Crews are clearing a fire line around the perimeter.”
A skidder with a blade has arrived to the fire from the north and is creating a fire break, Zion said. An operations base has been set up near the Montezuma County Road and Bridge yard off Road 30.
The fire is burning in piñon and oak brush on private land and is moving north. No structures are threatened, and no evacuations have been ordered.
Smoldering from a previous lightning strike is the suspected cause.
Fire crews from Dolores, Cortez, Mancos, Lewis Arriola, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management have responded. They could be seen hiking up the ridgeline toward the flames. Fire behavior included single-tree torching visible from Road 30.
Fire crews are working to prevent the fire from reaching the top of the ridge, officials said. A fallow field to the north and gravel pits to the east will provide good firebreaks.
Neighbors along Road 30 looked on with concern at the fire on a hillside just east of them.
“I’ve been creating a fire break around my place for years, and I have plenty of hydrants,” said one man on Road 30.
jmimiaga@the-journal.com