The battle for the Toe

News

The battle for the Toe

As threat decreases, the Toe firefight changes hands
A Single Engine Air Craft drops fire retardant on the Toe fire perimeter on Thursday. The burned area is in the background.
Flames flare up as the fire hit more fuel on the west side of Sleeping Ute Mountain on Thursday.
The Toe fire scorched 369 acres on the west side of Sleeping Ute Mountain.
Smoke rises behind the Ute Farm and Ranch on Thursday. Firefighters camped near the Ute Mountain Farm and Ranch and shuttled by helicopter to the fire line.
Dale Donohue prepares to reload an air tanker with fire retardant at the Cortez Airport as pilot Mike Miller prepares for another slurry drop on Sleeping Ute Mountain. Pilots flew 75 feet above the fire before releasing the 700 gallons of retardant. Two air tankers that flew in from Grand Junction had dropped seven loads by 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
A plane drops fire retardant on the Sleeping Ute fire Thursday afternoon.

The battle for the Toe

A Single Engine Air Craft drops fire retardant on the Toe fire perimeter on Thursday. The burned area is in the background.
Flames flare up as the fire hit more fuel on the west side of Sleeping Ute Mountain on Thursday.
The Toe fire scorched 369 acres on the west side of Sleeping Ute Mountain.
Smoke rises behind the Ute Farm and Ranch on Thursday. Firefighters camped near the Ute Mountain Farm and Ranch and shuttled by helicopter to the fire line.
Dale Donohue prepares to reload an air tanker with fire retardant at the Cortez Airport as pilot Mike Miller prepares for another slurry drop on Sleeping Ute Mountain. Pilots flew 75 feet above the fire before releasing the 700 gallons of retardant. Two air tankers that flew in from Grand Junction had dropped seven loads by 7:30 p.m. Thursday.
A plane drops fire retardant on the Sleeping Ute fire Thursday afternoon.