Rescue crews worked quickly to extinguish a fire that was started by a plane crash that took place amid ‘red flag’ conditions in the San Luis Valley on June 10.

According to a report from South Fork Fire Rescue, the report of the plane crash outside of South Fork and near Shoshone Trail was received at about 9:54 a.m. on Tuesday, June 10. The small single-engine plane was carrying two occupants, and while both occupants were able to self-extricate prior to the arrival of fire and emergency medical services personnel, the crash ignited surrounding vegetation, resulting in a weed and grass fire.

Upon arrive, rescue crews quickly extinguished the blaze before it was able to grow to become a larger incident. Conditions in the area at the time included 50 mile-per-hour gusts of wind and relative humidity that was as low as 11 percent, resulting in serious risk of wildfire spread.

The occupants of the plane sustained minor injuries in the crash, with one person transported to a local hospital for care.

Per the report from South Fork Fire Rescue, the single-engine aircraft took off from a private airstrip near South Fork and experienced power issues. There was an attempt to land at Chapman Field, but that didn’t work out and the crash occurred.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Federal Aviation Administration were notified about the incident and will be responsible for further investigation.

In addition to South Fork Fire Rescue, the Rio Grande County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the response.

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