Slaughter Gulch Fire Contained

RIFLE – The Slaughter Gulch fire located about three miles northeast of Silt, Colo. burned nearly 16 acres before being contained at 9:30 a.m. Sunday morning. The fire is expected to be controlled later today

Around 6:30 p.m. a lightning caused fire on Bureau of Land Management land was reported along Slaughter Gulch Road, a narrow steep road, outside of Silt. First to respond was the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management unit from Rifle, Colo. A helicopter was sent to the scene to begin dropping water to protect three nearby homes that were ordered to be evacuated by the Garfield Sheriff. They were joined by the Burning Mountains Fire Protection District which assumed responsibility for protecting the homes, according to Captain Carl Artaz. Two other homes were potentially threatened along with 20 homes above the ridge in the Cedar Hills development.

The 16-acre fire burned in grass, pinyon juniper and sage and grew quickly from four foot flames to flame lengths estimated to be 15 feet, according to Engine Foreman Ody Anderson. A brush truck from the Burning Mountains Fire Protection District sustained some damage when the wind suddenly shifted. The 2-person brush truck crew escaped the fire by running down Slaughter Gulch Road. An engine and chase truck managed to escape as well, with no injuries.

The brush truck had pulled off the road to allow BLM fire crews to pass by it. As hoses were being pulled off the BLM engine and the brush truck, the wind that had been blowing down canyon instantly shifted. The fire was estimated to be between 30 to 50 feet away from the road.

Fire behavior was extreme at that time. The fire jumped the dirt road and flashed over the brush truck. The front-end of the brush truck was scorched with head lights melted. About five minutes later it began to rain. “The rain made the difference,” said Incident Commander Hal Coombs.

“There’s nothing unusual to have homes in canyons away from it all,” according to Coombs, but canyons filled with sage and grass when conditions are dry and hot are prime for lightning caused fires.

BLM has stage 1 fire restrictions to minimize human caused fires at a time when fire conditions range from high to very high throughout the Western Slope in Colorado.