According to the US Forest Service, a portion of the White River National Forest has been closed due to the ongoing Ptarmigan Fire in Colorado’s Summit County.

Located just northeast of Silverthorne, Ptarmigan Fire has burned approximately 85 to 100 acres of land, as of Thursday morning. While rains in the area helped calm the intensity of the blaze, they have not extinguished the fire and it remains active. The forest closure has been put in place to protect both the public and the firefighting effort.

“The dangers presented from being in an active fire area should be obvious – increased risk of falling trees, aircraft making drops, and of course, from the fire itself,” said Dillon District Ranger Adam Bianchi.

The closure comes after evacuation orders were downgraded to pre-evacuation orders for 100s of nearby homes (more specifics on that can be found here and this status is subject to rapid change).

The closure area includes all areas burned by the blaze and trails leading into these areas. This includes National Forest System Trails 29, 35, and 69, as well asNFS Trail 24 Ute Peak Trail, south of the junction with NFS Trail 71 (Acorn Creek Trail).

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