{"id":16966,"date":"2025-08-12T18:26:01","date_gmt":"2025-08-13T00:26:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/multiple-wildfires-burn-across-southwest-colorado\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:03:27","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T04:03:27","slug":"multiple-wildfires-burn-across-southwest-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/multiple-wildfires-burn-across-southwest-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Multiple wildfires burn across Southwest Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Smoke
Smoke from area wildfires has settled in the Durango area, making for dramatic sunsets, such as this one on Sunday west of Hermosa. (Jerry McBride\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Wildfires burning east and west of Durango created smoky skies over the area and prompted evacuations and power shutoffs in the towns of Rico and Pagosa Springs.<\/p>\n

The Colorado Department of Fire Prevention and Control\u2019s weekly fire environment briefing<\/a> stated that western Colorado is in for at least another week of hot, dry and windy weather, meaning that heightened fire conditions will persist.<\/p>\n

Durango Fire Protection District Chief Randy Black said high fire danger and smoky conditions are expected to persist for the foreseeable future. He urged residents to adhere to the region\u2019s stage 2 fire restrictions and to be extra vigilant to avoid starting new fires in the area, especially as resources and crews are spread thin fighting fires across the state.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want to thank everybody for their patience,\u201d Black said. \u201cWe made it through last week\u2019s red flag days with pretty minimal issues. But we really just have to be extra vigilant right now, with fire conditions as bad as they are to try to minimize any ignition source.\u201d<\/p>\n

He urged residents to refrain from calling 911 to report smoke in the area. Too many calls, he said, can overload the system and bury a report of a new fire starting. Black said the Stoner Mesa Fire will cause smoky conditions to persist for the foreseeable future, because wind keeps blowing the fire and its smoke east.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you see a fire starting, or the origin of the smoke, or you see fire that\u2019s close to you, you need to call 911,\u201d Black said. \u201cIf it is general smokiness or smoke in the region, that\u2019s when we don\u2019t need people to call 911.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"At
At least four active wildfires were burning Monday across the region.<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Oak Ridge fire prompts evacuations, power shutoffs in neighborhoods west of Pagosa Springs<\/div>\n

Firefighters had contained 14% of the Oak Fire in Aspen Springs, which resulted in the evacuation of about 900 residents Monday.<\/p>\n

The size of the fire was reassessed from 75 acres to 69 acres early Tuesday, and pre-evacuation orders were lifted for several neighborhoods, including the Elk Park subdivision, North Pagosa Boulevard and Martinez Canyon, said Pagosa Fire Protection District Chief Robert Bertram.<\/p>\n

As of Tuesday, no homes had been lost to the fire and firefighters continued to focus on protecting homes and eliminating hot spots to prevent further spread, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re evaluating when we can safely get residents back in,\u201d he said. \u201cWe still have a lot of responders working in the area, and our priority is to ensure it\u2019s safe for both firefighters and residents before allowing reentry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Officials are optimistic about achieving more containment in the coming days, but emphasized patience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make sure it\u2019s safe before people return to their homes,\u201d Bertram said. \u201cIt is a priority to get people back, but safety comes first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meetings are planned to determine when residents can begin returning to their homes. In the meantime, the public is urged to wait for official updates and allow emergency crews to complete their work.<\/p>\n

The fire started Sunday afternoon in the Spruce Circle neighborhood of Aspen Springs.<\/p>\n

\"Smoke
Smoke from the Stoner Mesa Fire west of Rico blew into Durango on Sunday night and again on Monday. (Shane Benjamin\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Bertram said the Oak Fire was declared a disaster by the governor and was reclassified as a Stage 3 fire. That, in turn, allowed the allocation of resources from the National Forest Service, which mobilized air tankers and fire crews from Los Pinos Fire Protection District, Upper Pine Fire Protection District and South Fork Fire Department as mutual aid to fight the blaze.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe cause of the fire is currently still under investigation,\u201d Bertram said. \u201cWe did lose some out buildings, a travel trailer, a garage, a pump house. But as far as we know at this point, we have not found any residential structures that have been lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Monday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said federal funds were approved to help cover up to 75% of the costs of fighting the fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cFEMA Region 8 approved the state\u2019s request for a federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) after receiving the request this afternoon and determining that the fire threatened such destruction that it would constitute a major disaster,\u201d the release said. \u201cAt the time of the request, the Oak Fire was threatening more than 5,100 buildings and 2,000 homes.\u201d<\/p>\n

La Plata Electric Association CEO Chris Hansen said the energy co-op had to de-energize two circuits supplying power to the neighborhoods. LPEA\u2019s outage viewer <\/a>indicated that 186 meters in the vicinity of the blaze were without power.<\/p>\n

Hansen said the reason LPEA cuts power in the event of a wildfire is to prevent live transmission lines from igniting more fires and to keep firefighters safe.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf they\u2019re in that area fighting fire and a line comes down and it\u2019s energized, it could be very dangerous to the firefighters,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bertram said that despite the relatively small size of the fire, the terrain and number of homes in the area make it a challenging one to fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a very steep drain, heavily wooded, and is densely populated,\u201d he said. \u201cHow we still have so many structures standing, I don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Smoke
Smoke from area wildfires has settled in the Durango area, making for dramatic sunsets, such as this one on Monday from north Durango. (Shane Benjamin\/Durango Herald)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Stoner Mesa Fire continues to grow<\/div>\n

The Stoner Mesa Fire, burning about 20 miles northeast of Dolores, doubled in size over Monday night, reaching 6,618 acres.<\/p>\n

Much of the growth was along the western edge, where winds continued pushing the fire south along Stoner Creek and up areas of Taylor Mesa, including Big Hell and Little Hell canyons.<\/p>\n

Flames have been moving up the right flank in that area, prompting crews to focus on building indirect fire lines along the south side, said Cindy Howard, Stoner Mesa Fire spokesperson.<\/p>\n

The southward growth reached Fox Den Creek.<\/p>\n

Rico remains under pre-evacuation notice, with no immediate changes expected, Howard said.<\/p>\n

Firefighters are concentrating efforts on protecting values at risk along County Road 38 and Colorado Highway 145. Two smaller camps, separated from the main firefighting camp, are being established to position crews closer to the fire line.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest impact at the moment is just the smoke impacts,\u201d Howard said.<\/p>\n

Smoke has traveled into the Cortez, Durango and Telluride areas, and smoke advisories have been issued, she said.<\/p>\n

Air quality fluctuations are expected to continue over the next several days as shifting wind patterns influence the dispersion of smoke throughout the area.<\/p>\n

In Durango, the air quality rose to 155 (unhealthy) AQI Monday afternoon, before returning to 50 and 60 (moderate) AQI on Tuesday. There may be some risk for certain people, particularly those susceptible to air pollution.<\/p>\n

Water Canyons Fire<\/div>\n

Firefighters are making significant progress in containing the Water Canyon Fire in Montezuma County, which was reported to be 90% contained as of Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Firefighters planned to access the bottom of the 500-foot canyon to assess and suppress a spot fire that ignited over the weekend.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the situation is deemed to be too risky, our personnel will exit the canyon and another course of action will be pursued,\u201d a spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

Containment efforts have been aided by the effective use of available resources and the dedication of firefighting teams on the ground.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing is just the IC (incident command) did a good job with being able to utilize all the resources that we had available to get this fire contained. It was challenging. The weather was challenging. We ended up with high winds, no rain \u2013 that kind of stuff,\u201d the spokesperson said.<\/p>\n

As of Tuesday, there was no significant public safety risk from the Water Canyon Fire or the nearby Ute Mountain area.<\/p>\n

jbowman@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

sedmondson@durangoherald.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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