Small wildfire ignites near Little Snake River in northern Moffat County
A small wildfire broke out amid a red flag warning in northern Moffat County on Saturday.
The fire burned 70 acres in the vicinity of Conger Mesa Road. The site is near the Little Snake River and Wyoming border.
The human-caused fire was first reported March 20, just after 4 p.m.
The National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, for most of Routt and Rio Blanco counties and all of Moffat County.
A Red Flag Warning means that critical fire weather conditions exist and “a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity and warm temperatures can contribute to extreme fire behavior,” according to the National Weather Service.
The warning, issued on Friday morning for the Fire Weather Zone 201/Routt County Forecast Area on Saturday, was due to expected gusty winds, low relative humidity and dry fuels below 9,000 feet.
The National Weather Service warning noted winds from the southwest were expected to be 15-20 mph with gusts of up to 40 mph. The relative humidity was around to be 9% to 14%.
Support Local Journalism
Support Local Journalism
Readers around Steamboat and Routt County make the Steamboat Pilot & Today’s work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Each donation will be used exclusively for the development and creation of increased news coverage.