Wildfire in southeast Colorado grows to nearly 2,000 acres, Gov. Polis issues disaster declaration
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis issued a disaster declaration on Saturday for a wildfire burning in southeastern Colorado.
The fire ignited on Friday in Las Animas County, northwest of the Town of Kim. Town officials said multiple agencies are working to bring the blaze under control.
According to the National Interagency Fire Center, the Poitrey Canyon Fire has grown to approximately 1,996 acres.
Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to the fire on Saturday. The declaration will activate the State Emergency Operations Plan, which mobilizes resources to manage the response and contain the wildfire.
A statement from the governor's office said:
"Today, Governor Polis verbally declared a disaster emergency in response to the Poitrey Canyon Fire burning in Las Animas County. This fire is currently estimated at over 2,000 acres. This verbal declaration activates the State Emergency Operations Plan and directs the Department of Public Safety and its Divisions of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) and Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) to take responsibility for all response, recovery, and mitigation efforts on the Poitrey Canyon Fire. This support includes State and interagency engines and handcrews, DFPC and interagency aviation resources, and incident management personnel and overhead to assist in management of the fire and containment efforts. In addition, DFPC is supporting Las Animas County and the incident with administrative and financial oversight and intelligence products that include imaging, mapping, and fire behavior modeling and projects."
The NIFC said officials believe the fire was human-caused and began on private land. It is currently at 0% containment.
The Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control says two single-engine air tankers, two large air tankers, and a multi-mission aircraft and Tava suppression model have been deployed. On Saturday, the Hoehne Fire Protection District shared a video of an air tanker assisting in the suppression efforts.
