More than 100 firefighters are working to control a wind-driven wildfire burning near the Colorado-New Mexico border southeast of Trinidad, which officials estimated Tuesday at 646 acres with zero containment.
Erratic and shifting winds, combined with the rugged terrain, contributed to the Schwachheim fire’s growth, according to Colorado’s Incident Management Team, which assumed management of the fire Tuesday morning.
The fire is burning in grass brush in an old burn scar with rugged, steep drainages, west of Lake Dorothey Reservoir, officials said.
Critical fire weather is expected to continue Tuesday after the fire grew in the east drainage overnight, officials said. Temperatures are forecast in the upper 60s to mid-70s, along with west-southwest winds gusting up to 35 mph.
The area is also extremely dry with relative humidity values as low as 10%.
The state’s fire division is working alongside local and national resources to suppress the fire, which is burning less than 2 miles north of the New Mexico border.
Ground crews on Monday assisted two large air tankers and two helicopters that attacked the flames from above, officials said. More resources are enroute.
Lake Dorothey State Wildfire Area remains closed and there is a temporary flight restriction for the airspace above the area to allow for aerial operations.
The fire was reported at about 4:40 p.m. Sunday. The fire’s cause remains unknown.