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Tenderfoot2 Fire: Air attack continues as firefighters race against expected winds

The fight against the Tenderfoot2 Fire continued Tuesday morning, with additional crews en route, two heavy tankers dropping flame retardant slurry and two helicopters dropping water buckets.

The cause of the fire, which has now burned roughly 25 acres, is still under investigation. It has burned mostly sage and heavy timber, including significant amounts of standing dead beetle kill.

The fire started late Monday afternoon directly behind a water treatment plant on U.S. highway 6 in between Dillon and Keystone in the Oro Grande Trail area. The U.S. Forest Service will be closing trails in the area between Straight Creek Road and Frey Gulch Tuesday, along with the entire Tenderfoot Trail system.



In addition to crews from Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue, three U.S. Forest Service engines are responding along with a 20-person hand crew from Rifle and an initial attack hand crew from the Upper Colorado River.



There was very little fire activity overnight, however red-flag warning winds are expected by the late morning and mid-afternoon, which could whip up the fire.

Should it make a big run, the Corinthian Hills and Oro Grande neighborhoods could be at risk, although on Tuesday morning no evacuations had been ordered. The fire is also directly threatening a major power line and microwave communications repeater.


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