EAGLE COUNTY, Colo. — Firefighters were battling three new small fires in Eagle County on Thursday, officials said.
The newest fire was the Rube Fire in Wolcott. The fire was about half an acre in size at 2 p.m.
#BREAKING: New wildfire in Wolcott, Colorado. This is the #RubeFire
— CSP Eagle (@CSP_Eagle) August 20, 2020
@gefpd and @EagleRiverFire have crews on scene along with a couple SEATs and a helicopter. pic.twitter.com/lt44kPqvVh
The Murphy Fire at 11:45 a.m. was burning about 10 miles south of Edwards on New York Mountain in the Holy Cross Wilderness Area and was estimated to be one acre. Smoke could be seen from Edwards and Interstate 70.
At the same time, the Camp Hale Fire was burning in the Camp Hale area and was less than a tenth of an acre, according to U.S. Forest Service officials.
Nineteen firefighters and two heavy helicopters were working the Murphy Fire. Four firefighters and a helicopter were battling the Camp Hale Fire.
Marcia Gilles, Eagle-Holy Cross deputy district ranger, said fire conditions are still extreme in the forest and that lightning — a fire risk — was expected later Thursday afternoon.
Crews across Colorado were still battling four large wildfires Thursday.
The Pine Gulch Fire north of Grand Junction was at 121,781 acres on Thursday morning. The Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon was at 29,732 acres. The Cameron Peak Fire in western Larimer County was at 16,641 acres, and the Williams Fork Fire in Grand County was at 9,457 acres.
