Wildfires are burning on the Southern Ute Reservation in southern Colorado, and evacuations have been ordered.
Officials said on Twitter that the southern Ute tribal complex has been evacuated. All Southern Ute Tribal Complex offices have been evacuated and Sky Ute Casino and Resort has also been evacuated.
The Bear Dance fire has burned approximately 5 acres of residential areas north of Country Roads 517 and 516 toward Sundance Road. The fire is along Bear Dance Road and continues north along the Pine River.
Just before 6 p.m., pre-clearance notices were removed for residences located at the intersection of CR 518, north of CR 517 and CR 516. Bear Dance Road, located at the intersection of CR 321 and Ute Park Road, was reopened. Park Road, off the intersection of Bear Dance Road and CR 517, remains closed.
Reservations near Bear Dance Road. The fire covered 5 acres and was moving north along the Pine River.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, Southern UT Agency Fire Management and Los Pinos Fire Protection and District have responded and are on site. Air support is also on site.
— Suite Communications (@SUIT_Council) 3 June 2022
Tribal officials said there was a power outage in Ignacio as the fire started near a main power line. The La Plata Electric Association has approximately 5,000 customers without electricity in the Ignacio and Bayfield areas.
The power cuts are planned at the request of firefighters over safety concerns, said Hilary Knox, an LPEA executive, in an email. There was no direct damage caused by the fire.
The dispatch line of the Southern Ute Police Department is down due to power loss caused by the fire. People in the area should call 970-563-2820 for emergencies.
BIA Southern Ute Fire has called for additional resources #BearDanceFire
Please stay connected with Adivasi social media and @ksutribalradio and @ksutfourcornerspublicradio for more updates.
photo credit | Lindsay J. Box pic.twitter.com/H58Nz1SAq8
— Suite Communications (@SUIT_Council) 3 June 2022
Smoke is visible with Colorado 172 and affecting local communities. Officials said the southern Ute tribe is working with oil and gas operators in the area to “closed facilities” in the fire area. Stage 1 fire restrictions were implemented for the reservation on 20 May.
According to the National Weather Service, the weather in the area on Friday was hot, sunny, dry and windy. Temperatures in Ignacio were expected to reach 84 degrees, with winds of 30 mph and relative humidity of about 8%.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Southern UT Agency for Fire Management and the Los Pinos Fire Protection District are fighting the fire. Firefighting aircraft are being used to douse the fire and additional firefighting resources have been ordered. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
wildfire map
Click on the markers for details, use the buttons to change what the wildfire shows. Map data is updated automatically by government agencies and may lag behind real-time events. Incident types are numbered 1-5 – a type 1 incident is a large, complex wildfire that affects people and critical infrastructure, a type 5 incident is a small wildfire that involves few workers. Find out more about incident types at the bottom of this page.
