LAKE CITY, Colo. — A wildfire burning near the Hinsdale County town of Lake City has been active for roughly 30 days, gutting what is typically the most profitable month for local businesses.
Josh and Amber Votruba, owners of the Packer Saloon & Cannibal Grill in Lake City, say the fire has created widespread uncertainty for the community — and serious financial strain.
"It's just been a kind of a time where all of us have just kind of been uncertain, right? Uncertain about what to do, where to go, what happens," Josh Votruba said.
The couple says July is the single most important month for Lake City's tourism-driven economy, and the fire's timing has been devastating.
"We're down anywhere between 70% and 90% for some of these businesses, and this is our income to make for the year, and so it's put us in a tough place," Amber Votruba said.
The Votrubas say their home sits about a quarter mile from the current evacuation line, and visible signs of the fire are a daily reality.
"Right now we see quite a bit of debris, and we see the pine needles coming down, and there are a lot of concerning things regarding the fire for sure," Josh Votruba said.
They said conditions shift from day to day depending on wind direction.
► Watch Claire Lavezzorio's report in the video below:
As of a Saturday morning update, the fire is 34% contained and burning 6,213 acres — nearly double the fire's acreage on Thursday, and a decrease in containment.
The growing fire prompted evacuations Friday, and put downtown Lake City on a pre-evacuation notice. An up-to-date map of evacuations and pre-evacuations can be found here.
The lightning-caused fire northwest of Lake City was first reported nearly a month ago on July 9.
Crews are working on confinement and structure protection around Lake City and along Highway 149, according to a Saturday morning update from the incident management team.
Additional resources are set to continue arriving over the next several days.
The Elk Fire has also prompted forest closures within the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, and Gunnison national forests. For updated forest closure information, visit this site. Bureau of Land Management Uncompahgre Field Office closures can be found here.
Hinsdale County also issued an emergency declaration for unincorporated areas of the county, activating the county's emergency operations plan, according to an 11:40 a.m. post.
Despite the difficult summer, the Votrubas are encouraging visitors to look ahead to what Lake City has to offer in the coming months.
"We definitely want people here coming out and checking out the leaves and our hunting season," said Josh Votruba. "We're kind of a sleepy winter tourism town, not like some of the other ski resort towns, but we still have stuff here in Lake City for people like snowmobiling and ice climbing."
