The Dead Dog Fire in western Colorado is estimated at over 17,700 acres as of Wednesday morning and is 10 percent contained. On Tuesday, the fire was most active on the eastern portion with air resources working to assist ground crews to limit growth and were effective at protecting critical infrastructure. Employees of the Deserado Mine were able to return to work on Tuesday night. Firefighters will continue to protect valuables at risk within the fire area on Wednesday and build on the containment that began Tuesday. Weather could affect containment efforts with no precipitation forecasted for the near future and some wind gusts expected in the afternoons. Still it is mild compared to the high winds over the weekend and early week. Fire officials are also reminding the public that the use of unauthorized or unmanned aircraft, also known as drones, in the fire area endangers the lives of pilots and firefighters. It also can cause air operations to be suspended. Several roads remain closed due to the Dead Dog Fire including Rio Blanco County Road 65, Moffat County Road 61, Rio Blanco County Road 1, Moffat County Road 134, and Rio Blanco County Road 96. The Dead Dog Fire was started on Sunday about 10 miles north of Rangely. It has been determined to be human caused but no other information has been released. The Hunter Fire near Meeker was reported at 992 acres and 70 percent contained as of Wednesday morning. The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black took over command of both the Dead Dog and Hunter Fire on Tuesday. Thanks to air resources, by Tuesday evening several crews from the Hunter Fire were released to go help on the Dead Dog Fire. Additional crews are expected to be transferred to the Dead Dog Fire as they become available throughout the week.
