DURANGO - A very large smoke column developed Saturday afternoon on the Narraguinnep Fire, Durango Interagency Fire Dispatch reported Sunday, as the fire made a strong run to the northeast up Narraguinnep Canyon and grew from 286 acres to around 5,000 acres. The heavy smoke blanketing much of southwest Colorado Sunday is expected to lift by late morning.

The fire pushed about halfway up Far Draw. It burned hot through the canyon, but subsided and became less intense as it came over the rim onto flatter terrain. Firefighters were able to keep the fire between Forest Service Road 504 on the north side and 521 on the south side. These roads are closed due to active fire behavior. Residents are asked to stay away from the fire area due to poor visibility and heavy fire traffic.

As a precaution, Benchmark Fire Lookout and one permittee cabin were evacuated late Saturday. Fire personnel will be scouting out ahead of the fire today to see if any other evacuations are necessary.

The fire is not expected to be as active today as the vegetation in the Far Draw area is sparser and the terrain gentler. There are about 150 firefighters working the fire and more are expected today. Two helicopters will be available to assist firefighters today with controlling hot spots.

A Type 3 interagency team from the Durango area is managing the fire. Their incident command post is located east of Pleasantville. The fire, which began Friday afternoon, is burning near the Dolores River, 12 miles southeast of Dove Creek, Colorado and north of the Bradfield Bridge Fire.

Bradfield Bridge Fire – Firefighters expect to have the Bradfield Bridge Fire contained by this evening. The fire has been managed for ecological and resource benefits, to reintroduce fire to the ecosystem, and to benefit wildlife. Firefighters did take suppression actions along the southern edge of the fire to keep the fire out of drainages leading to the Dolores River along the Bradfield Bridge Road below McPhee Reservoir. Smoke may be visible for several weeks as small pockets of vegetation in the interior continue to burn out. The fire will be monitored by local District resources until significant moisture is received and the fire can be called controlled.