Airpark Fire Update

The “Airpark Fire” was reported around noon today and is burning west of Animas Airpark, primarily on Southern Ute Tribal Land.  At last report, the fire was estimated at 500 acres, but the active fire behavior we had seen this afternoon has subsided and the fire behavior has calmed for the evening.  The fire was burning to the west and may be visible from County Road 210 at the south side of the lake and the smoke plume is visible from a large portion of the County. 

Local, federal and Tribal firefighters will be on scene and watching the fire overnight and the fire management teams are developing a plan of attack for tomorrow. 

A pre-evacuation order was issued this afternoon for Trapper’s Crossing subdivision.  The forecast is for calm winds tonight, but the order is still in place and residents in and near Trapper’s Crossing should remain vigilant through tonight and tomorrow. 

La Plata County’s emergency notification system (commonly referred to as “Reverse 9-1-1”) now includes cell phones and VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).  Residents of La Plata County may now register up to five cell or Internet phone numbers with their physical street address, ensuring that emergency notifications are received even when residents are not at home or don’t have a land line.  To sign up, visit the County’s website at www.co.laplata.co.us.

For preparedness information and early information and updates on emergencies in progress, citizens can follow OEM on Twitter at: @LPC_OEM.  To follow updates by text message without joining Twitter, just text “FOLLOW LPC_OEM” to 40404 on your cell phone and you will receive all updates posted by the La Plata County Office of Emergency Management by text message.

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