Photo courtesy Debbie McAlister
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.
