Craig Daily Press /

Photo by John F. Russell

Wildfire crews battle a grass fire northwest of Hayden on Wednesday afternoon. Between 2 and 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, the Routt County Sheriff's Office and Routt County Emergency Manager Bob Struble were on their way to a wildfire that reportedly began during haying operations in a field on Routt County Road 78 northwest of Hayden on the way to Elkhead Reservoir. The location is near the triangle intersection with C.R. 78A. There was a report of a visible column of black smoke, and an area resident said he watched the size of the fire triple in about 10 minutes. The fire was contained at about 6 p.m. The cause has not been determined, but equipment use is suspected as the ignition source. The West Routt Fire Protection District and Bureau of Land Management also responded.