A fire in the Shearer Creek drainage about three miles west of Lemon Reservoir is now burning six to eight acres as of 9:15 a.m. Tuesday.

The Shearer Creek Fire – about 3½ miles north of Florida Road – is not threatening any structures.

The fire was caused by lightning along with another small fire that has been contained about a mile north of the first blaze.

Both fires were reported at 6 p.m. Sunday after an aircraft spotted them while conducting a flyover, and firefighters responded at 7:30 a.m. Monday.

“It’s very dangerous to send firefighters in overnight to respond directly to a fire,” Forest Service spokeswoman Ann Bond said. “We sent them in this morning (Monday) as soon as we felt it was safe.”

A San Juan hotshot crew has joined a helicopter and 32 firefighters from the U.S. Forest Service, Upper Pine River Fire Protection District and Durango Fire and Rescue in fighting the blaze, according to a Sasn Juan National Forest news release.

jdahl@durangoherald.com