Weston Pass Fire near Fairplay now 34% contained
UPDATE July 8: Current acreage is 13,019, while containment has increased to 34%.
UPDATE July 6: Officials reported an increase in containment on the Weston Pass Fire Friday, and the acreage burned remained the same from Thursday evening.
An update from the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team sent Friday evening says the Weston Pass Fire is now 32 percent contained. That’s up from Thursday’s 17-percent containment. The size of the fire remained at 12,902 acres.
That good news is despite thunderstorms causing issues for firefighters Friday. Line crews had to move to their staging areas and remained in vehicles until the storms passed over.
The fire was started last Thursday by lightning.
UPDATE July 5: The Weston Pass Fire near Fairplay has burned 12,902 acres and is 17% contained, officials said Thursday evening.
Earlier
The Weston Pass fire that’s burning just miles south of Fairplay has consumed more than 9,000 acres, but small progress has been made.
According to the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team, the fire was five percent contained as of Tuesday. About 9,340 acres have burned so far.
Lightning caused the fire. Close to 500 people and multiple aircraft are currently assisting the firefighting efforts.
According to the RMIMT, a road closure is in place one mile south of Fairplay at the junction of US Highway 285/State Highway 9 to all traffic, except local residents or landowners. A total closure is in place from the junction of US Highway 285/County Road 22 to Antero
Previous Story
Park County officials said Thursday that firefighters are currently battling a wildfire in an area south of Fairplay.
The fire was said to have started near Jones Hill, west of Highway 285 and south of County Road 22. ( MAP ) By Friday afternoon, officials said it had grown to more than 1,200 acres.
Mandatory evacuations were ordered for residents near Weston Pass. The Fairplay Community Center at the Park County Fairgrounds has been set up as a shelter.
The fire had consumed 47 acres of land as of 5:20 p.m. Winds were pushing from the southwest at 10 mph with gusts up to 30 mph. At least three firefighting helicopters were responding to the blaze.
This comes on the same day that nearly 100 firefighters are battling a large blaze west of La Veta.
This is a developing story, check back for updates.
