Smoke in SW Colo from fire near Gallup, NM - News from @SanJuanNF

DURANGO INTERAGENCY FIRE DISPATCH

U.S. Forest Service w Bureau of Land Management w National Park Service w Bureau of Indian Affairs w Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:  June 16, 2014, 8:55am

Smoke in Southwestern Colorado Coming from Fire near Gallup, New Mexico

 

DURANGO – The Durango Interagency Fire Dispatch Center reports that the smoke in southwestern Colorado is coming from the Assayi Lake 1 Fire, which is burning northwest of Gallup, New Mexico, about 100 miles southwest of Durango.  Due to our current weather pattern, residents should expect to see a smoky haze in the area for the next several days from this fire, which was estimated last night at approximately 600 acres.  Several hundred firefighters and aircraft are currently assigned to the fire, which is burning in pinon/juniper and brush on the Navajo Nation.

 

Southwestern Colorado is under a Red Flag Warning today and tomorrow, due to forecasted low humidity and high winds. So far this season, the Durango Interagency Fire Dispatch Center has responded to five small fires across public lands in southwestern Colorado.  Although no fire restrictions are yet in place, residents and visitors are reminded to be careful with fire.

 

San Juan National Forest

15 Burnett Court

Durango, CO 81301