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The aftermath of the Lower North Fork Fire. PHOTO COURTESY INCIWEB. Click for more images.
The Gill Creek Fire is about a half-acre in size, according to the U.S. Forest Service
By Summit Voice
SUMMIT COUNTY — A half-acre fire burning in scrub oak and ponderosa pine in Mesa County was started by a careless camper who left a campfire burning, in yet another sign that Colorado could be in for a difficult early fire season.
Firefighters from the Upper Colorado Interagency Fire Management Unit have been dispatched to quell the Gill Creek Fire near on national forest land near Kannah Creek. The fire is off of the Coal Creek Trail in the Coal Creek drainage and above the former Kannah Creek Fire burn area.
No private land or structures are threatened. The Forest Service is issuing a trail closure Order to keep members of the public out of the area for public safety and to allow firefighters to manage the fire, safely. As with all fires and forest activities, safety is the number one concern and priority.
Resources assigned to the fire include a five-person squad of firefighters plus two individuals, a fire lookout and human communications repeater, law enforcement officers and county sheriff personnel. A type 3 helicopter has been ordered to assist in the suppression effort as well.
Members of the public are cautioned that ground and vegetation conditions are dry and local winds and the lack of winter moisture make for conditions that are ripe for wildfire. Please ensure that if you build a fire, that it is completely out and mixed and stirred with water until cool to the touch, before leaving the area.
Filed under: Colorado, Environment, forest fires Tagged: | Colorado, forest fires, Gill Creek fire, Mesa County Colorado, United States Forest Service, Wildfires
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