Yampa firefighters called to fire near Crosho Lake; campers issued evacuation orders
Trevor Ballantyne/Steamboat Pilot & Today
Yampa and U.S. Forest Service fire crews were called to a fire near the Crosho Lake in Rio Blanco County — just 10 miles west of Phippsburg — around 5 p.m. Monday, according to Routt County Emergency Communications Manager Jim Cullen.
At around 6:20 p.m., Routt County Emergency Communications sent an emergency alert issuing an evacuation order for the area. Around 7 p.m., 4 aircraft were scoping the scene and dumping water.
At about 5 p.m., emergency radio communications stated there were several 911 calls made in South Routt regarding people seeing “white plumes” of smoke rising. Yampa Fire Protection District was then paged to the scene.
“Our fire departments have response areas, but they don’t always follow those jurisdictional lines,” said Cullen. “But it’s still pretty early.”
Cullen noted that officials are unsure of how big the fire is or how it started.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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