Winds in excess of 70 miles per hour pushed the Dead Dog Fire, that started 10 miles north of Rangely, to over 5000 acres on Monday. The fire had evacuated the town of Blue Mountain as well as the Deserado Mine and train loading area but both evacuation orders were lifted Monday night. Dinosaur has been asked to be on alert for possible evacuation. Wind grounded aircraft from battling the blaze off and on. Highway 40, Highway 64, Moffat County Road 134, Rio Blanco County Road 1, and County Road 65 have all had closures but as of Monday night only County Road 1 and Moffat County Road 134 remained closed. Meanwhile, the Hunter Fire located 20 miles southwest of Meeker held fire lines at just over 1000 acres despite the strong winds. It’s estimated the Hunter Fire is 30 percent contained. Over 200 firefighters are working the two fires with additional resources on the way. High winds continue to affect firefighting efforts.
