Wildland Fire - 07/29/08 - Hesperus, CO

On July 29th, 2008 at approximately 13:00 hours, the Fort Lewis Fire District was dispatched to a report of a wildland fire in the area of the Vista de Oro subdivision off of County Road 117. The Vista Fire grew to approximately 36 acres and required a mutual aid response from the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority, the Los Pinos Fire District, the Upper Pine Fire District, the Mancos Fire Department, and the Farmington, NM Fire Department. Air resources were provided by the Mesa Verde Helitack Crew and a Heavy Air Tanker out of Grand Junction, CO.

The area of the fire is thickly forested with Pinon Juniper and heavy ground vegetation, including Oak and Sage Brush. The heavy fuel conditions prompted emergency personnel to utilize air resources to keep the fire from running. LaPlata County provided resources in the way of water trucks and personnel from the Office of Emergency Management. The management team for this incident consisted of Captain John Vogel (IC), assisted by Chief Steve Ebner and Assistant Chief Doug Zalesky of the Fort Lewis Fire District; Deputy Chief Allen Clay (Ops) of the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority, and Scott McDermott (Air Ops) of the Mesa Verde Helitack Crew.