RIFLE, Colo. — A fire that started Sunday afternoon northeast of Rifle in western Colorado has grown to 69 acres in size, according to fire officials.
The Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit said in a post on Facebook that three Type 2 handcrews and multiple engines were on scene with additional crews on order to fight the blaze.
“Because of the size of this incident, crews will 'mop-up' to the extent necessary to minimize the likelihood of the fire moving into unburned areas outside of the edge of the fireline,” fire officials said.
Officials also said the mop-up operations may continue for the next few days “or even up to a week” depending on the severity of the heat within the fire perimeter so the blaze can be contained.
No information about the cause of the fire was immediately available.
