Photo courtesy Debbie McAlister
The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office gave the following update on the Coal Mine Fire at approximately 1 p.m.:
“Coal Mine Fire Update: as of 11:49 am 286 acres burned. Weather - breezy west winds late this afternoon. Will shift northerly before sunset as the trough passes to the east.”
Coal Mine fire update approximately 5 p.m. on June 29: The fire has grown to 267 acres since this morning. Air resources continue dropping water and fire retardant to shore up the perimeter. Hand crews are working with Archuleta County heavy equipment resources to firm up the fire line.
The Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office reported the following at about 12:45 p.m. on June 29: “Coal Mine Fire Update: The fire has grown to 220 acres since last night. Hand lines, dozer lines, and fire retardant are in place and active. Helicopter drops are being made with additional air resources in route. Pre-evacuation notifications were complete as of 7:30 pm last night.”
8:50 p.m. update: Fire has grown to 190 acres.
6 p.m. update: Coalmine Fire pre-evacuation notices are underway starting at mile marker 18 on County Road 500 heading east to mile marker 15. Archuleta County Sheriff's Office deputies will be out making contact with residents in this area. The fire is currently estimated at 140 acres.
Update: The Coalmine Fire, located on Southern Ute tribal land and private land within unincorporated Archuleta County in the area of County Road 500, was estimated at 40 acres around 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to Archuleta County Sheriff Mike Le Roux.
No evacuations have been ordered and no structures are threatened at this time, he reported.
The fire, which was detected on Wednesday, is spotting and resources have made one drop with a large air tanker, according to Le Roux.
Additional resources have been requested and are en route, he explained.
Area resources are also working on another fire on Chris Mountain that is under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Forest Service, he noted, and one ranch is under pre-evacuation orders.
