MANCOS The high winds, rain and lightning Tuesday night had little impact on the Weber Fire near Mancos that as of Wednesday morning was contained at 30 percent.
The fire that has burned 9,155 acres is currently being fought by 512 fire personnel.
About 150 people have been evacuated and mandatory evacuations are still in effect for Elk Spring Ranch, Elk Stream, a subdivision located on County Road 41, south and east of the Mancos Cemetery, a subdivision located south of Highway 160 and east of County Road 41 and at the intersection of J9 road and Highway 160.
The National Weather Service out of Grand Junction reported that the Cortez Airport received .05 of an inch of rain Tuesday night.
While there was a chance for Cortez and Montezuma County to receive a little more rain on Wednesday, it would not be a significant amount, and none after Wednesday is forecast in the area for at least the next week.
Beth Hermanson, public information officer for the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team C, said the winds on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning did not have a large impact on wildfire because the humidity was higher and temperatures were lower.
Hermanson said even with the light rain, all parts of the fire at one time or another received some precipitation.
We had a real good night last night, she said.
Hermanson also said the massive wildfire in Colorado Springs or other fires burning in the state and region will not impact the personnel that is currently working on the Weber Fire, saying that once resources are up for a particular fire, they are kept until they are no longer needed.
Shannon Borders, BLM public affairs specialist, said they work with a system when handling wildfires.
We order resources through a system. Once (crews) are assigned to a fire, they stay with that fire until they are released. They come in 14 day increments. If they have any days left when we release them from the fire, they may move to a different fire anywhere across the nation, Borders said.
She added that the Weber Fire is well staffed with fire crews. Right now we are getting all of the resources that we need for this fire.
Hermanson said the only exception to this rule involves firefighting aircraft, which are being deployed to all the fires that are burning in the state.
In a Rocky Mountain Incident Management news release, the fire continued slow movement toward Highway 160 and had areas of active fire on the northwest and southeast flanks overnight Tuesday to Wednesday.
Overnight, crews continued burnout operations and constructing and strengthening the fire line.
Rocky Mountain Team C Incident Commander Joe Lowe praised the work of fire crews.
Rough terrain, unpredictable weather, and heavy, dry fuels have made this a hard fought battle, he said.
The small controversy over the cause of the fire remained unclear. What is clear, is that the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
Earlier this week, Butch Knowlton, director of La Plata Countys Office of Emergency Preparedness, said the fire was started by people target practicing on federal land. He made the statement in Durango on Monday during a special meeting to brief county commissioners on area fires.
A bullet passed through a target, ricocheted off a rock and landed in dry vegetation, starting the fire, he said.
Connie Clementson, field manager for the Bureau of Land Management, who is actively involved in the investigation, declined to comment on the explanation and Knowltons statement.
I cant say, Clementson said. The fire is still under investigation.
She did say that the fire was definitely human-caused.
While Tuesday nights weather did not have much of an impact on the Weber Fire, it resulted in small lightning-started fires around the county, said Cortez Fire Protection District Chief Jeff Vandevoorde.
Vandevoorde said there were three fires Tusday night and added the district was assisted by the U.S. Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management in responding to them.
Vandevoorde said one of the fires was in McElmo Canyon where lightning caused a single tree to catch fire that was quickly extinguished
He said the other two reports included a fire on the mesa near Mesa Verde National Park and another on County Roads H and 25 that were likely started by lightning strikes.
The fire chief said the fire department was not able to get to either fire Tuesday night, and the Forest Service and the BLM went out on Wednesday to try to locate the two fires to contain them.
Because of the dry conditions and the Weber Fire, the Montezuma County Sheriffs Office issued a press release on Wednesday morning that banned fireworks and any shows for the towns of Dolores and Mancos. Rico, which is in Dolores County recently cancelled its annual show as well.
The release reads that Due to the extremely dry conditions and the current wildfire in Mancos, Montezuma County Sheriff Dennis Spruell has stated that the only fireworks display in Montezuma County will be done by the city of Cortez.
Lt. Ted Meador said this decision was made in conjunction with the Cortez Fire Project District, and added the sheriffs office wanted to get the word out, so there would be no confusion regarding firework display shows in either Mancos or Dolores.
Reach Michael Maresh at michaelm@cortezjournal.com
