Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center Joint Information Center

MEDIA ADVISORY
USDA Forest Service

SOUTHERN COLORADO UNDER HIGH FIRE DANGER

LAKEWOOD, CO--, June 13, 2011 Hot, dry and windy weather will continue for most of the week across the southern Front Range and eastern plains of Colorado. Tomorrow and Wednesday there will be a slight decrease in fire potential but it will be short lived as high to extreme fire potential return through the weekend. The U.S. Forest Service (USFS), San Isabel National Forest, San Carlos District is reporting the Duckett Fire to be at 1000 acres and growing. It is located northwest of Westcliffe, CO in both Custer and Fremont Counties. The Duckett fire is burning in ponderosa pine, oak brush, and mixed conifer in a remote area. There is no containment at this time. Fire managers expect a very active fire period today with Red Flag warnings, humidity below 5% and wind gusts reaching 45 miles per hour (mph). Firefighters worked through the night to put in a fire line in anticipation of extreme fire activity today. At present, 2 heli-tankers are putting retardant on the fire and ground resources include Hotshot crews and a type II hand crew. Additional resources have been ordered and a Rocky Mountain Area Type 2 Incident Management Team will take over management of the fire later today. Both the Custer and Fremont County Sheriffs are conducting evacuations. Approximately 40 structures are threatened at this time with an additional 200 structures within 2 miles of the fire. The Track Fire north of Raton, NM is approximately 2,700 acres and could cross into Colorado today. A Type 2 Incident Management Team from the southwest will manage this fire. Engines and large air tankers from Colorado are helping to fight the fire.

The Shell and Bear Trail fire complexes in SE Colorado are still active but crews have gained the upper hand and hope to have full containment on the Bear Trail today. Forecast: http://gacc.nifc.gov/rmcc/predictive/outlooks.html
Information on fires in the west can be found at www.inciweb.org. Follow RMACC at Rmaccfireinfo@twitter.com

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Steve Segin Public Information Officer Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center USFS External Affairs