Fire burns 10 acres on island in Colorado River
Fire burns 10 acres on island in Colorado River
03 June 2017
published by http://www.gjsentinel.com
USA – About 25 firefighters battled a 10-acre blaze on an island in the Colorado River near Walter Walker State Wildlife Area on Saturday.
The fire was started at about 11 p.m. Friday night, but firefighters waited until about 7 a.m. Saturday to begin extinguishing the blaze, said Deputy Amanda Erkman of the Mesa County Sheriffs Office.
Firefighters from several agencies worked to extinguish the fire, but it was zero percent contained on Saturday afternoon, officials said.
There are no structures in the area of the fire, located on the river between 20 and 21 roads.
A cottonwood tree going up in flames could be seen early Saturday afternoon from a paved walking loop at the wildlife area.
An aircraft team including a helicopter was used to collect water in a bucket from the river and drop it onto the fire.
Erkman said authorities have no idea yet how the fire started.
She said the recent wet weather might give people the impression that brush and trees are moist, but hot weather dries out brush quickly.
People are going to have to be careful because things are going be dry, Erkman said. We have to remember, its drier than we think it is.
