Two wildfires burning this weekend on hundreds of acres in southwestern Colorado have prompted evacuations across La Plata County, fire officials said.
Both fires sparked Saturday, and their causes remain under investigation, according to fire officials.
The Elkhorn fire, which started as a structure fire at about 5 p.m. Saturday and spread into the surrounding wildland, has consumed roughly 204 acres with no containment, fire officials said in a Sunday afternoon update.
Crews on Sunday were working to protect homes and structures near the fire’s edge, Operations Chief Nick Collard said in a Sunday morning briefing.
The fire is mostly burning on U.S. Forest Service land about 13 miles northeast of Durango, fire officials said.
As of Sunday afternoon, the mandatory evacuation area was bordered to the south by Stevens Creek and to the west by County Road 253, County Road 250 and the Animas River, according to the county’s evacuation map. The north and east sides of the evacuation zone extended into the San Juan National Forest.
Two additional zones along Elkhorn Mountain Road and County Road 253 were under pre-evacuation orders, according to the map.
Those are likely to turn into mandatory evacuation orders, county officials said.
Residents can call 970-385-8700 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. for updated evacuation information or view the current map online at readylaplata.org.
An evacuation shelter is open at Escalante Middle School at 141 Baker Lane in Durango.
A second wildfire burning south of Durango had consumed roughly 112 acres Sunday afternoon, more than doubling its size overnight with no word on containment, according to the Southern Ute Tribe.
The Rim Road fire prompted evacuations along and south of County Road 318, down to where the fire is burning near Indian Route 150, according to the county’s evacuation map.
Crews on Sunday were focused on preventing the flames from reaching a nearby oilfield, fire officials said.
Wells and natural gas lines in the area remained shut off due to their proximity to the fire, according to fire officials.
“Oil and gas operators temporarily shut down a few operations yesterday as a precaution,” officials stated in a Sunday afternoon update. “These sites were located closest to the fire perimeter. The temporarily closed sites are expected to resume operations tomorrow, pending a safety review by respective management.”
This is a developing story and may be updated.
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