Officials were growing optimistic Thursday that efforts to keep eight ranches from the flames of the 42,000-acre Bridger fire would be successful.
The fire is believed to have been started on the Army’s Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site by a lightning strike Wednesday.
Fueled by dry, warm conditions and winds of up to 30 mph, the blaze doubled in size Thursday and spread onto private lands. By 10 p.m. crews had beaten back flames that had earlier threatened the ranches, said Lon Robertson, a member of the Kim Volunteer Fire Department who was coordinating many of the firefighting efforts.
“I think everyone is beginning to feel comfortable that it will get under control” with stepped-up federal efforts and cooperative weather, Robertson said.
Earlier in the day, ranch owners scrambled to move cattle and horses to safety, but no ranch buildings were destroyed.
Steve Segin, spokesman for the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center, said early in the evening the fire was zero percent contained.
Robertson, the owner of the Kim Outpost general store in Kim, said fire managers marshaling resources were reluctant to put ground crews into the many canyons in the area.
He also said fire managers plan an aerial survey to pinpoint the worst areas.
“It is hard to fight the fire if you can’t see where it is,” he said.
Robertson said local fire districts got little communication from the Army when the fire was still on the Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site.
“There’s a lot of frustration with the lack of communication about the Piñon Canyon fire,” he said.
He said volunteer firefighters from Kim, Hoehne, Fisher’s Peak, Stonewall and Branson are being stationed near or at the Beatty Canyon Ranch, the Doherty Ranch and the JE Canyon Ranch.
Steve Wooten, who owns the Beatty Canyon Ranch, said the fire had scorched about 2,000 acres on the Beatty Canyon and JE Canyon ranches.
Wooten said the canyons can be as deep as 1,000 feet and up to 2 miles in width. He said the canyon bottoms are rich in vegetation and that is where most ranchers graze their cattle.
His wife, Joy Wooten, said the fire is close to the confluence of the Purgatoire River and Chacuaco Creek, where their cattle graze.
Joy Wooten said although cattle and their calves moved instinctively away from the flames, gates were opened to allow them to flee.
By early evening, the fire was about 3 miles from a ranch owned by John and Carolyn Doherty, Joy Wooten said.
Helicopters scooped water out of the Purgatoire River late Thursday and dropped it on the fire burning the top of Ov Mesa.
Segin said six Hot Shot crews are being moved to the fire as well as a Type II Incident Management Team consisting of 21 people who are experts in managing resources needed to fight a large fire.
The Hot Shots include the Alpine Hot Shots from Rocky Mountain National Park; the Craig Interagency Hot Shots from the Bureau of Land Management; and Hot Shot crews from the San Juan, Pike and Arapaho-Roosevelt national forests.
The fire is about 25 miles south of La Junta and is burning grass and piñon-juniper trees.
Segin said the Army is using four helicopters to fight the fire.
There are 242 firefighters at the scene, and three heavy air tankers flying from Rocky Mountain Airport in Jefferson County are fighting the fire.
Segin said many historic and prehistoric sites are in the area where the fire is raging. The most prominent historic site is the Rourke Ranch, which is on the National Historic Register.
Segin said fire can alter prehistoric artifacts. But a more prevalent danger, he said, is the fire will burn vegetation and upcoming monsoon rains will create erosion that may damage or “deflate” the sites.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
