Area fire personnel tended to two more fires over the last week, one on Sunday, March 29, and the other the following day.
The burns were followed by a temporary burn ban within Archuleta County that was put into place on Monday, March 30, and lifted on Wednesday, April 1.
At approximately 1 p.m. on Sunday, March 29, the Pagosa Fire Protection District and Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office (ACSO) were dispatched to an out-of-control fire approximately 3 miles down County Road 335 (Lower Blanco Road), according to the ACSO.
According to the agency, the first was a little under an acre in size, with crews from the PFPD, ACSO, and Archuleta County Road and Bridge fighting the fire.
The fire was contained at about 3:24 p.m., according to the agency.
The following day, Monday, March 30, at about 1:34 p.m., the local dispatch center received a call from Los Pinos Fire Protection District concerning a grass fire on County Road 988 in Arboles, according to the ACSO.
An update states units from Los Pinos, the ACSO, PFPD and Southern Ute Indian Tribe Bureau of Indian Affairs responded to the fire, which was estimated to be four or five acres.
The fire was contained just over an hour after the call was received, the update indicates.
On Wednesday, April 1, Archuleta County Emergency Management Commander Roy Vega noted both fires were human-caused burns that got out of control.
The afternoon of March 30 also brought a temporary fire ban, with the ACSO announcing that, effective immediately, it was putting a temporary burn ban in effect all agricultural and permitted burns within Archuleta County.
“Due to the current conditions, particulary [sic] forecasted wind events, we are shutting down the agricultural and permitted burn process for an abundance of safety,” the announcement states.
On Wednesday, April 1, the ACSO announced the ban had been lifted and burning operations could continue in line with Archuleta County Ordinance 18-2017 and Pagosa Fire Protection District, Los Pinos Fire District permit conditions.
Vega noted Wednesday that,while Wednesday’s rain would lower fire danger for a couple of days, it will dry out very quickly if more rain doesn’t follow.
On Wednesday, fire danger for both the upper and lower elevation zones of the San Juan National Forest was listed as high.
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