The Weber Fire (#weberfire on Twitter) was started on Friday afternoon just over the La Plata County border in Montezuma County near Mancos, Colorado. It was started along Weber Canyon and is believed to have been human caused though the actual cause is still under investigation. As of Monday afternoon the fire had grown to over 8300 acres, and evacuation orders were in place for over 100 homes and the fire remains 0% contained at this time.
Evacuation or pre-evacuation orders were in place for Elk Springs and Elk Stream Ranch subdivisions, South of U.S. Highway 160 along Montezuma County Road 42.5 east to the La Plata County line, East on Montezuma County Road H from County Road 41 (from irrigated land east to the county line), Echo Basin area north of U.S. Highway 160, Homes along Highway 160 from Echo Basin east to the Montezuma-La Plata County line, Cherry Creek subdivision in La Plata County and some residents on La Plata County Road 105. To allow firefighters and support vehicles unencumbered access to the fire the following roads are closed; Montezuma county roads 46 and 41 south of County Road G.
The biggest fear is that this fire will cross Highway 160 and head into more densely vegetated and populated areas. If this were to occur, this fire would become a whole different animal. At the current time, the fire remains 1/2 mile from Highway 160. Officials were hoping the fire would continue its path towards Mancos as this would allow the firefighters a better chance to develop a line to stop the fire. The fire resources are now in a holding pattern of protecting personnel and structures as best as they can until they are able to fight the fire on less treacherous terrain.
On Sunday evening a Type 2 Federal team arrived to take over the command center for the fire, they are more equipped to deal with larger fires and have better resources available to them than we have locally. Additionally, there has been a request for a Type 1 hot shot team to be dispatched to the area. As of Monday afternoon, there are 160 fire personnel working on the blaze, along with four helicopters, three single-engine air tankers and a guide plane.
I have been posting updates as they are available on my Twitter page, please follow me there @DeniseJStorm