Fire crews have made good progress on the Dead Dog fire and the blaze in northwestern Colorado is now 60 percent contained.
The fire remains at 17,731 acres, with most of it burning on Bureau of Land Management land north of Rangely.
“Ground resources utilized aircraft to keep fire growth to a minimum and strengthen containment lines,” according to an update from the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team. “Firefighters patrolled the fire during the night as a precaution, ensuring the fire stayed within established containment lines.”
Fire crews will be demobilized over the next few days as containment increases and the fire is extinguished.
Fire officials are investigating the cause of the blaze, which they believe was caused by human activity.
A second blaze near Meeker, the Hunter Fire, remains at 992 acres. It was fully contained Wednesday evening and will be minimally staffed with ground resources and supported by aviation as needed on Thursday.
The Hunter fire was started by lightning.
Although crews have made progress on the fires, the potential for fire activity remains high. The public is urged to be cautious with all combustible materials to prevent unwanted, human-caused fires.