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UPDATES: Firefighters responding to wildland fire in South Routt County

Dylan Anderson
Steamboat Pilot and Today
Crews from multiple agencies are responding to a fire east of Yampa near the Muddy Slide Trail in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. This is a view of the smoke from downtown Yampa. (Photo by Kari Harden)

5 p.m.: The U.S. Forest Service has taken over jurisdiction of the fire since it is located in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest. Firefighting crews are staging at Lost Elk Ranch on Routt County Road 16, and the Forest Service will be coordinating the response.

Yampa Fire Protection District firefighters were dispatched to reports of a wildland fire to the east of the town of Yampa, near the cross sections of U.S. Forest Service roads 280 and 285, in southeast Routt County at around 3 p.m.

This has prompted pre-evacuation plans in the area, and scanner chatter indicates this may impact houses off of Routt County Road 16. Winds are blowing to the south and southeast, pushing the fire in that direction. The fire is starting to move down the ridge to the east.



Firefighters report seeing smoke from the backside of Muddy Slide Trail, and crews are staging near Toponas.

The interagency dispatch center in Craig has been alerted, as well as the U.S Forest Service and firefighters from the Oak Creek Fire Protection District, according to scanner traffic.



Yampa Fire Chief Machia Cox said he was heading out to the scene and didn’t have more details about the situation at this time.

The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning for Routt County on Sunday, which indicates conditions are ripe for fires to start and spread. Fire danger is considered extreme in the area of the fire.

This story will be updated.


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