Nine wildfires were reported in two northwestern Colorado counties during a hot and gusty Saturday, including a 400-acre fire hit from the air with two loads of retardant.
Lightning was the confirmed cause of several of the fires in Moffat and Rio Blanco counties, a high desert region dotted with sage brush, juniper and piñon.
Sheriffs departments and the Bureau of Land Management were jointly fighting the fires reported to the Craig Interagency Dispatch Center on Saturday afternoon and evening after thunderstorms and erratic winds swept through the area.
The Four Mile Fire was the largest at 400 acres. No one was injured and no structures had been damaged, but residents who live about half a mile from the blaze were escorted out by Moffat County deputies. The fire was 20 miles north of Craig off Highway 13 on federal land.
Two single-engine air tankers, which are fixed-wing airplanes, dropped retardant to slow the fire’s advance. Travel on Moffat County Road 3 was restricted.
