A 180-acre wildfire that erupted Saturday afternoon in the Sage Hen area of McPhee Reservoir was expected to be 100 percent contained before Tuesday, according to a U.S. Forest Service official.
Firefighters continued Monday to mop up hot spots and cut down brush.
Also on Monday, Montezuma County commissioners instituted a countywide fire ban that is effective immediately and until further notice. Open fires and the use of fireworks will not be permitted in unincorporated areas of Montezuma County, including private land within public land areas. Exemptions may be issued on an as-needed basis. For more information and to view the full ordinance, visit the county website at montezumacounty.org.
The commissioners voted unanimously for the ban after requests from Montezuma County Sheriff Steve Nowlin and regional fire chiefs. Hot, dry weather is expected to continue through the week, increasing the risk of wildfire.
The Sage Hen fire was reported about 4:15 p.m. Saturday on a private, grassy field near Roads X and 25 just north of the reservoir’s Great Cut Dike, said Montezuma County Emergency Manager Paul Hollar. It then moved north and east onto about 16 acres of U.S. Forest Service land, burning through a piñon and juniper area.
Officials set up a staging area at Roads X and 25 on Sunday morning.
Late Saturday, the fire was estimated at 150 acres, said Ann Bond, public affairs specialist for the U.S. Forest Service. No immediate structures were in danger, and no evacuations were in affect, and fire crews made substantial progress with the fire on Saturday night, said Hollar.
“It’s dying down,” Hollar said on Saturday. “We got a lot of air support today.”
Three fire engines were on scene through the night Saturday, and there was no fire growth overnight, a Forest Service official on the ground said. Crews used an air tanker and a helicopter Saturday night, but no aircraft had been used Sunday morning, he said.
Two Type 2 firefighting crews were on the scene Sunday morning for a total of 40 to 50 people, the official said. Wind from the southwest was expected, but no structures were in the fire’s way, he said. Crews made progress even as humidity fell and temperatures rose, the official said.
“If we get through today, we’ll be in good shape,” he said.
About 45 firefighters were on the scene on Saturday, according to the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office. Three single-engine air tankers (SEATS) and one helicopter assisted firefighters on the ground, and an air tanker from Grand Junction arrived Saturday night and made a couple of drops, Hollar said.
A base near the McPhee Dam at County Roads X and 25 was set up Sunday morning.
Responding agencies included the Cortez, Dolores and Lewis-Arriola fire departments, the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management and the Montezuma County Sheriff’s Office. Durango Fire Protection and Department of Homeland Security Office of Emergency Management Field Manager also responded.
The Forest Service announced Monday that it was prepositioning additional firefighting aircraft including three SEATS at the Durango air tanker base and a helicopter crew at the Archuleta County airport. Other additional resources being repositioned at San Juan National Forest districts include seven fire engines and three fire-prevention patrols.
The announcement came as the Forest Service announced that a fire weather watch was underway for northeast La Plata, San Juan, Hinsdale and Archuleta counties.
High temperatures, low humidity and dry vegetation have combined to increase the risk for wildfires. High temperatures in the middle to upper 90s are forecast for the rest of the week, with overnight lows in the 50s.
Other Western Slope firesFirefighters for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests continued on Sunday to manage the Pitch and Kelso fires. A large column of smoke could be seen looking south from Grand Junction, Delta and Montrose. This column was the result of a prescribed burn on the Manti-La Sal National Forest in Utah.
The Pitch fire is about 20 miles southwest of Grand Junction, on the Uncompahgre Plateau. The Skyway Fire Module, the Veterans Fire Crew and firefighters from Collbran Job corps continued their work to strengthen and widen perimeter lines by burning unburned fuels, particularly on the north side of the fire, between the containment boundary and the active fire. The fire has grown to about 75 acres.
