Fire burns 30 acres south of Durango

Friday, Jun 17, 2016 8:03 AM Updated Saturday, Jun. 18, 2016 4:17 AM

Resident lost control of open burn south of Durango

A heavy airtanker from the Durango Tanker Base drops slurry Friday as flames approach homes on County Road 217, about eight miles southeast of Durango. The 30-acre fire started about 2:30 p.m. when an open burn went out of control on private property. No structures had burned as of Friday evening.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Betsy Rockett, who lives in the 300 block of County Road 217, was upset that her neighbor conducted a burn on one of the hottest days of the year. She called 911 when the fire got out of control and moved onto her land.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A firefighter provides structure protection Friday south of Durango where an open burn torched 30 acres and endangered several homes.

Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Crews fight a wildland fire off of County Road 217 south of Durango on Friday afternoon. The fire started after a controlled burn got out of control about 2:30 p.m. It threatened four structures. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Crews fight a wildland fire off County Road 217 south of Durango on Friday afternoon. The fire started after a controlled burn got out of control. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A helicopter helps fight a wildland fire south of Durango on Friday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A firefighter helps to put out a fire off County Road 217 south of Durango on Friday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

Firefighters put out a fire off County Road 217 and Thoroughbred Road south of Durango on Friday afternoon. Photos by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

Firefighters help to put out a fire off County Road 217 and Thoroughbred Road south of Durango on Friday afternoon. Photo Shane Benjamin/Durango Herald

Smoke fills the Florida River valley Friday afternoon as a wildland fire burns near County Road 217 and Thoroughbred Road. Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

A tanker works to provide structure protection at a house on Thoroughbred Road, south of Durango where a wildland fire burned Friday afternoon. Residents of four houses were evacuated. Photo by Shane Benjamin/Durango Herald

A plane drops fire retardant on a wildland fire near County Road 217 on Friday afternoon. Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

A helicopter drops water on a fire on County Road 217 on Friday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The Mesa Verde Heli Attack helicopter puts out flames that threatened homes on Friday southeast of Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The Mesa Verde Heli Attack helicopter works to put out flames that threatened homes on Friday at the 217 Fire southeast of Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A Los Pinos Fire Protection District firefighter dampens vegetation as flames approach a home on Friday at the 217 Fire southeast of Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The Mesa Verde Heli Attack helicopter works to put out flames that threatened homes on Friday at the 217 Fire southeast of Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A lead planes marks the drop for a heavy airtanker from the Durango Tanker Base to drop a load of retardant as flames approach homes Friday at the 217 Fire southeast of Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The Mesa Verde Heli Attack helicopter works to put out flames that threatened homes on Friday at the 217 Fire southeast of Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

The Mesa Verde Heli Attack helicopter works to put out flames that threatened homes on Friday. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A firefighter helps fight a blaze on County Road 217 southeast of Durango on Friday afternoon. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

A heavy tanker flies over a wildland fire off County Road 217 and Thoroughbred Road on Friday afternoon. A tanker, lead plan, helicopter and single-engine plane attacked the fire from above while ground crews fought below. Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

Slurry covers a firefighter’s helmet at a fire off of County Road 217 and Thorougbred Road on Friday afternoon. Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

Slurry covers a firefighter at a fire off County Road 217 and Thorougbred Road on Friday afternoon. Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

Firefighters attack a wildland fire from Betsy Rockett’s deck on Friday afternoon on County Road 217. Photo by Luke Perkins/Durango Herald

A heavy airtanker from the Durango Tanker Base drops a load of slurry as flames approach homes on Friday at the 217 Fire southeast of Durango. Photo by Jerry McBride/Durango Herald

BONDAD – A wildland fire torched at least 30 acres of pinon and dry grasses Friday south of Durango when an open burn went out of control.

The fire, which was reported at 2:30 p.m., made a quick run north up a valley along County Road 217 and Thoroughbred Road, about eight miles south of Durango east of U.S. Highway 550, said Karola Hanks, fire marshal for Durango Fire Protection District.

A white cloud was visible from Durango. The blaze was entirely on private land.

Firefighting crews worked into the evening Friday protecting four structures, Hanks said. No homes were damaged as of Friday night. Fire officials planned to keep an eye on weather conditions and the burn area Saturday to make sure it doesn’t make another run, she said.

The fire, officially named the 217 Fire, was 25 percent contained as of 7 p.m.

Several aircraft, including a heavy airtanker, single-engine plane, helicopter and a lead plane hammered the blaze from above with water and slurry, a fire retardant.

“It was a very quick response, and that is the advantage of having those resources close to home and not deployed someplace else,” Hanks said.

Also helping fight the fire was Los Pinos Fire District, Durango Fire Protection District, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Colorado Office of Emergency Management and federal air forces. Hanks said more resources were en route Friday night to help monitor the situation.

Betsy Rockett, who lives in the 300 block of County Road 217, said she saw her neighbor conducting a controlled burn about 2 p.m. and asked the workers to stop. She didn’t receive a favorable response, she said, and a short time later, the fire had moved into pinon trees and was on her property. She then called 911 to report it.

“I’m pretty stressed out,” Rockett said Friday afternoon. “That’s my house, and the land is gone.” She said her yard had several old cottonwood trees that are burned.

“I knew this was going to happen,” Rockett said. “You don’t do this. You don’t burn your fields at 2 o’clock in the afternoon on one of the hottest days of the year. ... I hope they send him a bill.”

She commended firefighters for their response. “It took them 15 to 20 minutes to get here, but now (firefighters) are here, and I couldn’t be happier,” she said.

The fire moved quickly on dry land. Rockett’s son, Micah Freitas, watched as it spread.

“We were watching piñon trees blow up like Christmas trees,” Freitas said.

Hanks said there was no red flag warning issued Friday, and there may not be one issued Saturday, but it’s likely no burning will be allowed in the Durango Fire Protection District because a large percentage of crew members will be assigned to the fire.

Durango Herald intern Luke Perkins contributed to this story.

shane@durangoherald.com