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Blaze burns estimated 2,000 acres

Bridget Manley

At a glance ...

• A fire first reported as 2 acres Tuesday near U.S. Highway 40 is estimated to have grown and burned roughly 2,000 acres.

• No injuries or fatalities were reported in the blaze about 10 miles west of Craig.

• A portion of the Westview Subdivision was evacuated.

• Moffat County Sheriff: The cause of the fire is “undetermined but under investigation.”

Quotable

“Right now, people are extremely concerned about fire, and this is an example of why.”

— Tim Jantz, Moffat County Sheriff, about Tuesday’s blaze about 10 miles west of Craig

At a glance …

• A fire first reported as 2 acres Tuesday near U.S. Highway 40 is estimated to have grown and burned roughly 2,000 acres.

• No injuries or fatalities were reported in the blaze about 10 miles west of Craig.

• A portion of the Westview Subdivision was evacuated.



• Moffat County Sheriff: The cause of the fire is “undetermined but under investigation.”

Quotable

“Right now, people are extremely concerned about fire, and this is an example of why.”



— Tim Jantz, Moffat County Sheriff, about Tuesday’s blaze about 10 miles west of Craig

A fire first reported as 2 acres Tuesday about 10 miles west of Craig is believed to have burned roughly 2,000 acres and prompted evacuations in the Westview Subdivision.

No injuries or fatalities were reported in the blaze and no structures were burned.

One home was threatened by the fire but was saved, Moffat County Sheriff Tim Jantz said.

He stressed that figures on the blaze’s acreage are still rough estimates.

The blaze was reported at about 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Personnel responded to the fire from Craig Fire/Rescue, the Bureau of Land Management, Moffat County Sheriff’s Office, The Memorial Hospital in Craig’s EMS and the U.S. Forest Service, the sheriff said.

The blaze began near milepost 79 on U.S. Highway 40.

“We don’t have any purported lightning in the area,” Jantz said.

The cause behind the fire is “undetermined but under investigation,” he added.

The fire moved quickly, prompting evacuations of several households along Moffat County Road 81 and part of the Westview Subdivision.

Evacuation notices were delivered via a reverse 911 system and door-to-door visits from sheriff’s deputies, Jantz said.

A temporary shelter for livestock was set up at the Moffat County Fairgrounds Pavilion.

The building also was open to evacuees, but most stayed with family members, Jantz said.

The evacuation was lifted later Tuesday night and residents were allowed to return to their homes.

A pre-evacuation notice also was issued to Western Knolls through the reverse 911 system and deputies, but the area was not evacuated.

Preserving lives and property were top concerns, and residents were notified as the fire spread, Jantz said.

“Their personal safety is my No. 1 priority,” he said.

Emergency responders also battled another blaze sparked Tuesday near Baggs, Wyo.

As of about 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, the blaze named the Willow Fire had crossed the state line and was still burning uncontained near Slater, but no evacuation notices had been issued.

Back at the fire west of Craig, one sheriff’s office engine was scheduled to remain on the scene until at least 1:30 a.m. today to ensure the fire didn’t flare up.

Providing the blaze did not revive, cleanup efforts are scheduled to begin at 8 a.m. today.

“Right now, people are extremely concerned about fire and this is an example of why,” Jantz said Tuesday night.

Craig Fire/Rescue Chief Bill Johnston said 25 of his 29 volunteer firefighters responded to the call.

“They performed excellently, but it was a team effort among all of the responding agencies,” the fire chief said. “I hope this is a good example for all of Moffat County residents of how dry it is and how serious the fire danger is.”

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