Fire crews attacked the Red Canyon fire through the air and on the ground as it continued to grow in size Wednesday.
Nearly 20 primary structures are still threatened by the fire, which has grown to an estimated 390 acres and is at 27 percent containment, according to fire officials.
Wednesday morning, Shane Del Grosso, incident commander of the Rocky Mountain Area Incident Management Team A, took over leading the firefighting efforts, according to a news release from Bill Kight, spokesman for the incident management team.
The fire is burning just off County Road 115 about 2.5 miles from Colorado 82, south of Glenwood Springs, according to Garfield County Sheriff’s Office.
County Road 115 will remain closed from Colorado 82 to County Road 119, according to authorities.
The terrain includes mixed piñon-juniper forest with islands of sage at lower elevations, on both Bureau of Land Management and private lands, according to Kight.
The fire started Monday around 2 p.m. possibly by lightning, according to officials.
The incident command post has been established at the Carbondale Middle School.
The fire spread quickly the first day due to high winds.
Two Type II hand crews made up of 20 people each are combating the blaze with additional hand crews en route, according to the release.
Because of the rugged terrain, crews have relied on air support, which has included two air attack planes used for reconnaissance, two single engine air tankers, one Type III light helicopter, one medium Type II helicopter, and one large air tanker. Six fire jumpers were on scene at about 3 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
Ryan Parker: 303-954-2409, rparker@denverpost.com or
