Little Sand Fire Smoke Plume

While at work outside of town, this smoke plume dominated the northeastern horizon. It is from the Little Sand Fire, which is burning 13 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs, Colorado and about 55 miles east-northeast of Durango. The fire was started by lightning on May 13 in rugged terrain managed by the San Juan National Forest. The burn area is north of the Piedra River and is currently estimated to cover 14,224 acres.

The smoke plume was visible from many places around the outside of town and serves as a reminder to residents and visitors that extremely dry conditions exist and care should be taken to prevent any other fires from sprouting up during these extreme fire conditions.