Wildfire erupts in northwestern Colorado
The Collom wildfire burning southwest of Craig in the northwestern part of Colorado was five percent contained but had consumed nearly 650 acres as of Wednesday afternoon, the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office said.
One hundred firefighters were assigned to the fire Wednesday, which is entirely located on property owned by Elk Ridge Mining and Reclamation for their Colowyo mine, officials said. The sheriff’s office also said that a preliminary investigation into the cause of the fire revealed activity associated with surface mining operations started the blaze.
The wildfire ignited Tuesday evening between Moffat County Road 17 and Colorado 13 with “large plumes of smoke” visible in surrounding areas, the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office said.
Ground and air resources including the Bureau of Land Management and Craig Fire Protection District responded to the fire. Officials shut down Moffat County Road 51 due to fire activity and firefighting efforts, the sheriff’s office said.
The entire county is in either extreme or exceptional drought, the two highest levels of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, the sheriff’s office said.
This is a developing story, check back for more updates.
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Editor’s note: The original version of this story incorrectly referred to the fire northwest of Craig.
