Smoke Seen West of Laramie Coming From Colorado Fire [UPDATED]
UPDATE (Monday, June 20, 9:57 a.m.):
According to Aaron Voos, a U.S. Forest Service spokesman, says the fire began late Sunday northwest of Walden, Colo. near Big Creek Lake.
The fire is currently estimated at 200 acres in size. Voos says roughly 20 Forest Service, Jackson County, Colo., and BLM personnel are staffed on the fire, with requests out for more. Those personnel are focused on sizing up the fire and protecting nearby cabins.
The cabins are roughly 1.5 miles from the fire. Voos says no one has been evacuated yet, but the county sheriff has notified residents to prepare for a potential evacuation order.
"We've got a couple of engines that are on it right now," says Voos. "Both volunteer crews from the county and then some Forest Service engines." Voos says a type-1 helicopter is also working on the fire, taking water from Big Creek Lake.
Voos says an account providing updated information on the fire will be set up on InciWeb, an incident reporting system, Monday morning. You can find the Colorado incidents page here.
Original Story:
A cloud of smoke from an active Colorado fire is hanging west of Laramie, another sign that fire season is picking up across the western United States.
What's been dubbed the Beaver Creek Fire is estimated to have burned 75 acres so far in the Twisty Park area of the Routt National Forest according to Fire Chief Jeff Benson of the North Park, Colo. Fire Rescue Authority.
Benson says "there's heavy beetle-kill timber in the area," making it difficult to closely estimate the size of the blaze.
Laramie Fire dispatch said local units responded but returned to Laramie when they discovered the fire is burning south of the border, which Colorado rangers confirmed. Carbon County fire vehicles also responded, Benson said.
Benson said U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management fire crews are fighting the flames using four engines, six personnel and a helicopter.
For more information, contact the Bureau of Land Management office in Craig, Colo. at 970-826-5037.