GRAND JUNCTION, Colo.—A wildfire in the remote Little Bookcliffs Wilderness Study Area north of Grand Junction has grown to about 1,400 acres.
Fire managers are trying to steer the Cosgrove fire away from forage land for wild horses but otherwise they’re allowing it to burn pinon juniper that has spread to former forage areas.
To keep it moving in the right direction, crews were burning out a 300-foot buffer zone along an oil exploration road on Friday.
The hope is that horses and elk will return to the area next year and feed on grass and sage brush follow re-seeding.
Meanwhile, fire managers expect to fully contain a 71-acre fire near Craig by Saturday. That fire has burned an outbuilding and power pole since it started Tuesday.
