Summit County Citizens Voice

Canadian air tanker leads aerial attack; fire may be within 1 mile of gas drilling operations

The Pine Ridge Fire in Mesa County. Map courtesy InciWeb.org.

By Summit County

SUMMIT COUNTY —The Pine Ridge Fire, burning in Mesa County, quickly grew to 700 acres in just a few hours and is threatening seven structures, according to the Bureau of Land Management.

The fire is burning mostly on BLM land about 10 miles northeast of Grand Junction and reportedly was lightning-caused. The area is under a red flag warning for extreme fire danger Thursday.

Based on the GPS coordinates of the fire posted at InciWeb, the fire is burning within one mile of gas wells, according to SkyTruth. At least one regional incident commander with the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit said the fire may be burning in the vicinity of some gas drilling operations. More info at the SkyTruth blog.

Aerial view of the Pine Ridge Fire, courtesy Garfield County.

According to the BLM, the fire was growing rapidly as of Wednesday evening, with zero containment.

A heavy air tanker from Canada is leading the aerial attack on the fire, helping 95 firefighters on the ground.

There were no evacuations or pre-evacuation orders as of Wednesday evening. A subdivision in the area is undeveloped and law enforcement officials are patrolling the area to check if any trailers in the vicinity of the fire are occupied.

For information about preparing for possible evacuations, log on to www.sheriff.mesacounty.us.

Filed under: Colorado, forest fires, wildfires Tagged: | Colorado fires, Mesa County wildfire, Pine Ridge Fire, Wildfires