Grand County searchers found a Craig man who lost his way while hiking Friday afternoon.

They found 30-year-old Aric Harpe at about 10:30 p.m. Friday, said Darrel Levingston, a spokesman for Routt County Search and Rescue. Harpe was hiking in Buffalo Park south of Rabbit Ears Pass when he got turned around. Harpe thought he knew which direction to go but wasn't quite sure where he was, Levingston said.

"It really was the most prudent thing to just build a shelter, which he did," Levingston said. "He built a lean-to and did exercises to stay warm. He did get his clothes dried out and just waited for the search crews to get to him."

Levingston said Friday that the man left for a hike at 9:30 a.m. At 5 p.m., Levingston said the Grand County crew was about 45 minutes away from the lost hiker's campsite. Routt County Search and Rescue first was dispatched at about 2:30 p.m. Friday. Initially, too few volunteers responded to field a Routt County team. That changed later in the day, Levingston said.

"We did actually have enough people to send out in the field, but it seemed that in this situation, Grand County could have gotten to him faster than we could, and so that's why we turned it over to them," he said.

Routt County searchers were on standby in case the Grand County team needed help, Levingston said. Harpe did not require medical treatment.

Lightning strike ignites tree in North Routt County

Lightning hit a Douglas fir and set it on fire in North Routt County on Saturday afternoon. The tree ignited between 1 and 2 p.m., said Bob Reilley, North Routt fire chief. Firefighters from the North Routt Fire Protection District made it to the fire about 2:30 p.m., Reilley said.

The tree is on Routt County Road 64, or Seedhouse Road, just inside the boundary of U.S. Forest Service land, Reilley said. The crew still was working as of about 6:30 p.m. Firefighters will keep an eye on the tree for a few days to make sure no fire remains, Reilley said.

"We actually had to come off the hill for a while because of the lightning," he said. "Now we're back up on it, trying to finish before dark."

The fire had not spread.