Crews are fighting a small fire on national forest land between the mountain town of Estes Park and Lyons, which sits in the Boulder foothills.
As of Sunday at about 7:30 a.m., the Moose Fire in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests hadn’t changed in size from under one acre, according to a post on social media platform X. There, it was initially reported by the U.S. Forest Service after 9 p.m. on Saturday as a two-acre fire located near U.S. Route 36 and Big Meadows Road.
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Around that time, Estes Park officials announced the closure of U.S. 36 between Estes Park and Lyons “due to wildland fire operations.” It reopened last night.
The federal agency’s firefighters joined local firefighters to respond. The Forest Service pointed to high winds as a challenge while the crews tried to “take advantage of rocky topography to slow spread.”
At least one driver recorded videos of the blaze from the road.
Video from Facebook just now from highway 36. #ColoradoFire They have dubbed it the #MooseFire https://t.co/sSjGnWoWdJ pic.twitter.com/4NYtIf39sm
— Jenny Marie Hatch (@jennyhatch1968) April 7, 2024
By almost 11 p.m., officials reported that the fire hadn’t grown significantly, with the nearby power poles at risk. At that time, it was determined that the Moose Fire only burned in an area sized at under one acre.
The Pinewood Springs Fire Protection District and the U.S. Forest Service didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
This is a developing story and will be updated.