At least six fires were smoking on 5,276 acres around western Colorado on Friday.
The Devil’s Thumb fire closest to Denver, in the wilderness near Fraser, still isn’t fully contained but wasn’t spreading as firefighters worked to suppress flames with helicopter support — seizing opportunities ahead of anticipated gusty and erratic winds.
This fire has burned on 95 acres, consuming blown-down spruce and lodgepole pine trees, reaching into dense spruce near edges of the burn zone, according to the latest reports from federal fire managers posted on a government fire information website. They listed the fire as 25% contained and have closed a U.S. Forest Service road to keep hikers away from the Devil’s Thumb Trailhead, near where the fire broke out on July 4. Firefighters were planning to clear “pads” inside the burn zone where helicopters that haul water could land.
