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Firefighters suppress small wildfire north of Ruedi Reservoir over the weekend

Aspen Times staff report
A helicopter drops water on the Smith Fireburning north of Ruedi Reservoir on Saturday evening. The fire was mapped at .7 acres Sunday and is not longer active or growing, White River National Forest officials said Sunday.
Roaring Fork Fire Rescue/courtesy photo

Firefighters are continuing to suppress a small wildfire that was detected late Saturday afternoon north of Ruedi Reservoir, White River National Forest officials said Sunday.

The Smith Fire, which was reported at 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the Freeman Creek area, was mapped Sunday at 0.7 acres. The fire was no longer active or growing Sunday, according to David Boyd, U.S. Forest Service public affairs officer with the White River National Forest.

Roaring Fork Fire Rescue personnel were the first to respond to the wildfire, which was burning in grass, brush and aspen in the White River National Forest. Seven smoke jumpers and seven engine wildland firefighters with the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit (UCR) also responded, and were able to drop water from a helicopter to help keep the fire from growing Saturday evening, Boyd said.



Although the fire was no longer active Sunday, the 14 UCR firefighters built a containment line around the perimeter and are continuing to strengthen those lines. Boyd said the closest structure to the fire is about 1 mile away but was never considered threatened.

There are no evacuation orders in place and the cause of the fire is still under investigation, Boyd said.


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