Firefighters have stopped battling the Cosgrove Canyon wildfire 8 miles north of Grand Junction because the blaze grew only from 10 to 15 acres during the day Saturday, officials said.
Authorities said that instead of fighting the fire, they will monitor it given a National Weather Service forecast for a chance of rain today.
The last of the fire crews, engines and equipment left the area Saturday afternoon ahead of the predicted rain. Equipment can become stuck on rain-slick roads or in washouts.
The blaze, ignited Aug. 7 by lightning, is in the remote Little Bookcliffs Wilderness Study Area.
A Roosevelt Hot Shot crew was mostly successful in creating a 300-foot buffer zone on the southwest flank of the fire.
The Cosgrove fire is clearing out decades of juniper pinyon overgrowth in the Buffalo Wallow area that has choked out pastures for horses and other wildlife. The Friends of the Mustangs citizens group has applauded the fire management effort.
The Denver Post
