Little Sand Fire Update

Four Corners Public Radio

Published June 27, 2012 at 1:04 PM MDT

Little Sand Fire Update - Service San Juan National Forest

DURANGO INTERAGENCY FIRE DISPATCH

U.S. Forest Service w Archuleta County w Hinsdale County w Bureau of Land Management w National Park Service w Bureau of Indian Affairs w Colorado State Forest

Community Meeting at Vallecito Community Center, 6:00 pm June 28, 2012

Daily Update June 27, 2012 8:00 AM

During the evening hours Tuesday the area adjacent to the Little Sand Fire received thunderstorms that produced dry lightning but little rain. Although there was no lightning in the immediate fire area, adjacent areas did receive strikes. Crews will be standing by today to provide an support for initial attack response to new fires and suppress any spot fires should they occur south of the Piedra River or east of the Weminuche Valley. In addition to initial attack response, firefighters will continue to protect structures in the WeminucheValley, confining the fire to the west side of the valley.

Most of the Little Sand Fire activity Tuesday was in the vicinity of DavisCanyon and the PiedraRiver where the fire made small runs up the west and east slopes of DavisCanyon. The fire is burning into a 2009 prescribed burn near the confluence of Coldwater Creek and the PiedraRiver. The fuel in this prescribed burn area is Ponderosa pine with an under story of Gambel oak. Fire managers are waiting to see what effect the previous burn has on Wednesday's fire activity.

In other areas of the Little Sand Fire there was minimal fire activity. On the west side, the fire continued to stay on the ridge between Coldwater Creek and Sand Creek and has not moved west toward the Vallecito area. Over the east side of the fire, slopes west of the Poma Ranch continued to have slowly moving backing fires as the fire encountered aspen patches and meadow vegetation.

Weather over the fire today will moderate with temperatures between 84 and 88 degrees. An increase in minimum humidity to 12 to18 percent and winds in the 8 to 12 mile per hour range will further help to moderate fire activity. No Red Flag Warnings are expected today. Smoke will continue to be a problem in areas adjacent to the fire with night time inversions continuing. Information on smoke densities can be found on links provided on the Inciweb site below to smoke monitors located at the Sportsmans Campground area and PiedraRiver, the State air quality site, and smoke health information.

Recreation areas along the PiedraRiver corridor leading to the Williams Creek Reservoir and ending at the Palisades Horse Camp are open for visitors. Guides and outfitters working in the area open for business and rerouting their trips as necessary to avoid the fire. The Poison Park Road (FR644), and the portion of the Piedra River Road (FR 631) that lead to the Poma Ranch are closed due to fire activity. Other closures exist for areas immediately adjacent to the fire. Closure information may be found on the fire's Inciweb site. Pagosa Springs and the Vallecito areas are open for business as usual.

Information on the Little Sand Fire may be obtained by calling (970) 444-2201 or from the following web sites:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Little-Sand-COFire/447627881921625

Google: https://plus.google.com/u/0/104028533250808441708/posts

Little Sand Blog: http://littlesandcofire.wordpress.com/

About Me: http://about.me/little_sand_cofire

Inciweb: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2878/

Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/little_sand_cofire/

ArchuletaCounty: http://www.acemergency.org/

Fire stats at a glance:

Start Date: May 13th, 2012

Cause: Lightning

Acreage: 22,440