Fire crews are battling a small wildfire burning at the foot of the Gore Range north of Silverthorne.
The fire was spotted around 3:30 p.m. by nearby homeowners at the end of Rock Creek Road, about 7 miles north of Silverthorne and two miles west of Highway 9.
Initial reports estimated the fire was one acre. Latest estimate from Summit Fire and EMS puts it at one-fifth of an acre as of 5:40 p.m.
There are no evacuations and no homes are immediately threatened. It is burning in dead and downed lodgepole pine and aspens on U.S. Forest Service land.
“We have a number of wildfire engine crews on scene and working together to keep this fire small,” “Chainsaws, hand tools, digging a fire line around what’s burning. We have a helicopter coming soon from Rifle. We are attacking this thing vigorously.”
Krystal 93 listener Doug Spinhower lives at the end of Rock Creek Road. His ranch is the closest structure to the fire.
“I’m meeting with Summit Fire and EMS on the north edge of my property,” Spinhower says. “We have a pond here. They’ll bring the chopper in to dip out of that.”
Crews with Summit Fire, Red White & Blue Fire, and the USFS are on scene, along with Summit County Sheriff’s Office. These images were taken by a sheriff’s office drone.
From the end of Rock Creek Road, an estimated half-mile away, Lipsher says it smells like a campfire, but he can hardly see smoke.
“We’re hopeful at this point that we’ll be able to keep this thing small,” Lipsher says.