Two small grass fires burned and were contained earlier this week, with neither fire burning more than two acres.
Because of the fire danger in portions of the county, such as was exhibited in this week’s fires, Stage I fire restrictions will go into effect Monday, July 7, for portions of unincorporated Archuleta County.
For more on those restrictions, see the related article on the front page.
The first of this week’s fires burned approximately 17 miles south of Pagosa Springs at a location just off of County Road 500 (Trujillo Road) on Monday afternoon.
The fire, which reached about 1.5 acres, began shortly before 1:30 p.m. and was considered fully contained by about 4:15 p.m. Monday.
The fire is believed to have started with a lawnmower and burned a small ATV trailer, said Christina Marquart, Archuleta County’s deputy director of emergency management.
While the fire was under Archuleta County’s jurisdiction, Pagosa Fire Protection District personnel assisted.
The second fire of the week took place in Aspen Springs, at a site along Deer Trail, on Tuesday.
According to Incident Commander Deb Calavan of the Pagosa Fire Protection District (PFPD), that fire burned to approximately one-half acre in size in grass, brush and oak brush.
Calavan and PFPD Wildland Coordinator John Gilbert were jointly in charge of operations at the fire.
The fire was reported around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, with PFPD personnel arriving on scene within 11 minutes. The fire was contained at 5:40 p.m., and crews cleared the scene at 7:20 p.m.
A total of 22 PFPD personnel and six pieces of equipment responded and were helped by four Archuleta County Wildland Fire Crew personnel with two apparatuses and four U.S. Forest Service fire personnel with one piece of equipment.
Additionally, the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office provided traffic control and additional area fire crews were ready to respond if needed.
No injuries were reported during the fire, and no structures were lost.
The cause remains undetermined.
randi@pagosasun.com
