Copyright 2006 Denver Publishing Company
By BIANCA PRIETO and IVAN MORENO
Rocky Mountain News (Denver)
HUERFANO COUNTY, Colo. — A human-caused fire started on private land ripped through northeastern parts of Sheep Mountain, threatening several structures Tuesday.
The 100-acre Sheep Fire was 20 percent contained after Day 2 of the blaze.
“We made good progress today,” said incident commander Dave Poelle.
Fire crews worked overnight Monday into Tuesday to help protect four homes that were threatened, said Ralph Bellah, fire information officer for the National Forest Service.
Ground crews, along with air support, are expected to be out again this morning.
Firefighters were faced with rocky terrain and thick, burning brush, pinon and juniper trees.
Dry conditions mixed with low humidity levels and moderate winds made conditions tough for firefighters, Bellah said.
A brief afternoon rain shower gave false hope to the 80 firefighters on the mountainside.
The fire was reported Monday afternoon on private property about six miles southwest of Gardner and about 25 miles northwest of Walsenburg.
The fire spread to some state and federally owned land on Tuesday.
Fire officials are continuing to investigate how the fire began.
A natural gas plant in the area was threatened early Tuesday, but was out of danger by the afternoon, as crews worked to build fire lines.
Helicopters and planes also worked the fire intermittently throughout the day, Bellah said. Members of the Colorado Wildfire Academy were pulled from training activities in Cortez to help.
Several students from the academy were sent to help fight the Missionary Ridge fire near Durango in 2002 while attending training.
Huerfano County has been under a burn ban since Jan. 13 after the human-caused Mauricio Canyon Fire destroyed more than 3,000 acres and five homes in Huerfano and Las Animas counties.
At least 19 Colorado counties are under burn bans, some since early January, according to the Colorado Division of Emergency Management. Several cities, national forests and open space lands across the state are also enforcing bans.
During the first five months of the year, nearly 56,000 acres burned across the state, 14,000 more than last year’s total, said Scott Woods, fire information officer for the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center.
More than half of the state’s 376 fires have been started by people, and the others were sparked by lightning, Woods said.
“With the extremely dry conditions and the forecast for this to continue, people need to be careful with cigarette butts and campfires,” Woods said. “We have the potential for large fire spread.”
Sheep Fire
* Acres burned: 100
* Cause: Human
* Containment: 20 percent
* Equipment: Three fire engines
* Aerial equipment: Five helicopters
* Weather forecast: Hot and dry with moderate winds
* Number of firefighters: 80
Fiery year so far
56,000 acres have burned across the state during the first five months of the year, 14,000 more than last year’s total.