Storms bring mix of rain, fire in far northwest Colorado

By Dennis Webb
Monday, July 16, 2012

Weekend thunderstorms brought much-needed moisture but associated lightning also caused nine wildfires in far northwestern Colorado, one of them several dozen acres in size.

Two other human-caused fires occurred in Grand County, the Bureau of Land Management said in a news release.

All the fires were contained and there were no injuries, evacuations or loss of structures, the BLM said.

The biggest fire, 74 acres, occurred on Bureau of Land Management land four miles south of the Colorado/Wyoming. Most of the fires were on BLM lands in Moffat County, with one on private land there. A fire 10 miles northwest of Craig burned 22 acres.

Another occurred on BLM land in Rio Blanco County, and yet another on U.S. Forest Service land in Routt County.

The Grand County fires included a tenth-of-an-acre fire triggered by an abandoned campfire, and another that occurred at a rifle range on state land west of Hot Sulphur Springs. BLM spokeswoman Lynn Barclay said it is believed to have been sparked by a bullet ricocheting off a rock, and noted that the same thing has happened several times at the site in the past.

The BLM said grasses are expected to dry again as temperatures increase and monsoonal conditions leave the region. More monsoon weather is expected this weekend.