A fire near Norwood in San Miguel County had burned between 2,000 and 3,000 acres as of late Saturday and was still showing “extreme fire behavior,” said Chris Barth, spokesman for the Montrose Interagency Fire Management Unit.
The Beaver fire started in San Miguel Canyon about 2:30 p.m. and closed Colorado 145 for a time. Barth said he had no reports of injuries or damage to homes, but residents of the area were advised to register with county officials for alerts if evacuation orders go out.
Interagency firefighting teams from Norwood and Montrose, and local volunteer fire departments from the area, including Telluride, were fighting the fire, which was fanned by wind gusts of up to 45 mph, officials said.
The fire was burning in oak brush and pine trees on private, Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service land near the San Miguel County-Montrose County border, officials said.
No cause for the fire had been determined.
Late Saturday, one lane of Colorado 145 was open for residents to use with an escort, Barth said. Motorists should expect the same restriction today, he said. Jeffrey Leib, The Denver Post
