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Lightning sparks fires in both Eagle, Minturn

Randy Wyrick
vail daily
Special to the DailySmoke started rising moments after lightning hit northeast of Eagle's Eby Creek Mesa neighborhood. Lightning also hit above Minturn.
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A bank of thunderstorms blew through the valley and lightning strikes had local firefighters working on two wildland hot spots Thursday evening.

Above Eagle, firefighters were dispatched to a fire above the Eby Creek neighborhood.

A few neighborhood residents saw lightning hit a hillside north and east of their neighborhood and smoke start to rise moments later.



Flames jumped up and were visible from the neighborhood, but the wind was blowing from south, away from any structures about two miles away.

The Greater Eagle Fire Protection District was taking no chances and called for air support almost immediately.



No homes had been evacuated, but neighborhood residents had been put on alert, told to prepare to leave.

Above Minturn, the Eagle River Fire Protection District responding to a smoke report in the area above Battle Mountain south of Minturn.

They sent in a crew to investigate, but it doesn’t appear to be sustained smoke that would go with a wildfire. Crews were optimistic it was not a wildfire, said battalion chief Michael Warmuth.


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