A fire referred to as the Collum fire, located twelve miles of Meeker, Colorado broke out Tuesday. Fire crews have been able to contain 5% of the blaze that has so far burned 640 acres in Moffat County.
“The entire fire is located on property owned by Elk Ridge Mining and Reclamation, Colowyo Mine,” according to a Moffat County Sheriff’s Office Facebook post.
Moffat County officials have closed County Road 51 due to the encroaching fire. Smoke plumes can be seen from Hwy. 13 and may continue to be for a few days.
As of Wednesday, there were 100 firefighters assigned to the fire, according to the Facebook post.
The area surrounding Moffat County has experienced extreme drought conditions. The latest heatwave has only exacerbated the situation, according to officials.
The fire was reported to the Moffat County Sheriff’s Office around 4 p.m. on Tuesday. An investigation is underway to discover the origin and cause of the fire, however, an initial investigation revealed the fire was caused by activity associated with surface mining operations, according to the post.
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