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BREAKING: Summit County firefighters battle wildfire north of Silverthorne

Joe Moylan
jmoylan@summitdaily.com
Summit County firefighters responded the afternoon of Monday, May 5, to a wildfire off Colorado Highway 9 north of Silverthorne. As of 7 p.m. the fire, burning 5 acres of shrubs and dead-standing aspens, was about 20 percent contained.
Courtesy / Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue |

Summit County firefighters were working Monday night to contain a small wildfire on a private ranch off Colorado Highway 9 north of Silverthorne.

As of Monday night, no people or structures were threatened due to the 5-acre fire, which was burning in shrubs and dead-standing aspens on a hillside on Mount Powell Ranch.

Among the responding agencies were firefighters from Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue, Red, White & Blue Fire Protection District, Copper Mountain Fire Department, the High Country Training Center and U.S. Forest Service. Deputies from the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, troopers from the Colorado State Patrol and employees of the Colorado Department of Transportation also responded to the blaze.



“Even though it’s early in the season, we take an all-hands-on-deck approach,” said Summit County Sheriff John Minor in a news release. “We aren’t taking any chances.”

The fire was reported at about 4:15 p.m. By 7 p.m., firefighters reported the fire was about 20 percent contained and were optimistic going into nightfall that they would keep it at its current size, the release stated.



A cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but it does not appear to be intentional, the release stated.

Light winds allowed firefighters to work on containment, but they faced some hazards such as potential falling trees and occasional torching of trees amid the single-digit relative humidity, the release stated.

The fire is burning at about 8,100 feet of elevation and there are still patches of snow in the surrounding area, which is not unprecedented for this time of year, the release stated.

“Fire season is here,” said Lake Dillon Fire chief Dave Parmley in the release. “We all need to begin that mindset of preparation and awareness, and don’t let the heavy snow of this past winter mislead you into thinking it’s going to be an uneventful summer when it comes to wildfire.”


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