The Burro Fire east of Dolores grew 9 acres on Thursday, and crews continued on Saturday to reinforce containment lines on its northwestern and southern sides.
An infrared mapping flight about 11:25 p.m. Friday showed that the Burro Fire was at 3,756 acres, and two small areas of intense heat existed in the northwestern and southeastern areas of the fire. Both were small areas of perimeter growth, the flight log said.
Crews were watching the weather, public information officer Andy Lyon said, and were advised to stay out of the hot spots in the southwest in case winds kicked up. The area is under a red flag alert because of hot, dry and windy conditions.
The fire remained at 53 percent containment, and the estimate of full containment was revised to Aug. 1. Previously, full containment was expected by July 15.
The new, Type 3 team, under incident commander John Norton-Jensen, reported that fellers, skidders and chippers would reinforce control lines and remove hazardous fuels along the completed bulldozed line in Division J, on the northwest side of the fire. Crews also worked to improve fire lines in Division N, on the southern end of the fire, near Windy Gap.
Limited fire activity was expected on Sunday, though a drying trend following last weekend’s 1.2 inches of rain could result in increased fire activity within two or three days, said Lyon.
Division R, on the fire’s northeast side, remained unstaffed. The Burro Fire is bordered on the east by a high-elevation wilderness, and because some areas are above timberline, the fire team does not consider the area to be a threat, said Patrick Seekins, of the Dolores Ranger District of the San Juan National Forest. Crews from the 416 Fire were managing that area from the western flank of the 416 Fire, less than 10 miles away.
The Burro and 416 fires, previously managed by a joint Rocky Mountain Incident Management Type 1 team along with the Burro Fire, have transitioned to new fire management teams.
The Burro Fire transitioned to a downsized Type 3 team under the jurisdiction of the San Juan National Forest at 6 a.m. Thursday. About 134 personnel remained on the fire team, but that number was expected to fall Friday as personnel including the 20 Black Mountain Hotshots, from Carson City, Nevada, demobilized.
The 416 Fire hit its 14-day limit for working a fire on Thursday, and is now under a Type 1 National Incident Management Organization team. The NIMO team, from Portland, Oregon, will continue to supervise more than 466 firefighters working on the wildfire. A NIMO team is structured to manage long-duration fires, ideal for managing fire in the remote country, such as the western side of the 416 Fire.
