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Air, Land Attack On Frey Gulch Fire

SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo (CBS4) The Alta Hot Shots, out of Utah, are taking the lead on the Frey Gulch Fire. They'll lead fire management and have a couple of crews on the fire line, according to a post on the Lake Dillon Fire Rescue Facebook page.

The fire is burning between Keystone and Dillon. So far, 22 acres have gone up in flames.

keystone-fire
(credit: CBS)

Firefighting efforts are focused on getting a containment line around the burn area and possibly burning some fuels on the interior of the fire line. Helicopter operations are likely again today, and may lead to road closures.

What caused the fire remains under investigation. A Lake Dillon Fire Rescue spokesman Steve Lipsher said they were investigating whether shooting at the range was connected to the fire's origin. The range was open at the time.

The fire appeared to have started in brush and moved up into trees including beetle killed pines and other lodgepole pines near death from beetle kill. There's also aspen in the area. Winds were not strong in the afternoon as crews climbed the steep slope to try to contain the fire, but the potential concerned firefighters who were trying to coordinate a helicopter drop to attack the fire and prevent its spread.

Ironically, Lipsher said, fire danger had just been dropped to "low" after snow this week. No structures are threatened and the fire would have to expand a great deal to approach any.

Wildfire Resources

- Visit CBSDenver.com's Living With Wildfire section.

Wildfire Photo Galleries

- See images from the most destructive wildfires (Black Forest, Waldo Canyon, High Park and Fourmile) and largest wildfire (Hayman) in Colorado history.

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