DURANGO, Colo. – A wildfire burning west of Durango is suspected to have started from human-caused ignition, officials from the Bureau of Land Management said in a news release Wednesday.
The Perins Peak Fire was first reported around 5 p.m. Tuesday and is burning on Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Parks and Wildlife land, according to officials with Durango Interagency Fire Dispatch. It is burning in heavy timber and oak brush.
An aggressive initial attack took place throughout the day Tuesday and into the evening, the Type 3 Incident Commander for the Perins Peak Fire said in a video update posted to Facebook, adding approximately 30,000 – 40,000 gallons of retardant were dumped directly to the fire’s edge.
By Tuesday night, the fire – which burned from the bottom of the Rock Ridge Trail to the top of Perins Peak, reaching the Lightner Creek Fire scar from 2017 – had grown to 105 acres in size. It had not grown by Wednesday morning.
Pre-evacuation orders remain in place for County Road 208 and the Dry Fork and Rock Ridge subdivisions as well as County Road 206 to Highway 160. Trail access has been closed to Overend Mountain Park, Twin Buttes, and Perins State Wildlife Area, BLM officials said
An evacuation map from La Plata County can be found here. Residents can also call the information line at (970) 385-8700.
If you live in La Plata County and have not signed up for the county’s emergency notification system, CodeRed, BLM officials urge you to register by clicking here.
Fire officials say a good window of weather will allow them to aggressively attack the blaze over the next two days. Several hot shot crews and other resources hiked into the fire area early Wednesday morning, officials said in the news release.
A public meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at the La Plata County Administration Building, 1101 E. 2nd Ave. in Durango. A virtual option will be available through Zoom. The passcode is 466417. Residents can also dial in at (669) 900-9128.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
