Gulf News

Fire danger forces major forest to close

It is the first full closure of a national forest in Colorado since 2002

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Extreme fire danger prompted officials to shut down a sprawling forest that includes some of Colorado’s most stunning mountains in a region that attracts tourists from around the world, a rare tactic also being used in neighbouri­ng states as the US Southwest struggles with severe drought.

National forests and parks in Arizona and New Mexico have already been shut down as precaution­s.

San Juan National Forest officials in southweste­rn Colorado planned to close hundreds of kilometres of trails and thousands of kilometres of back roads to hikers, bikers, horseback riders and campers starting yesterday to prevent the possibilit­y of an abandoned campfire or any other spark from starting a wildfire. It’s the first full closure of a national forest in Colorado since 2002, which was another very dry year.

The closure will remain until sufficient precipitat­ion eases the fire danger.

The move comes as the residents of more than 2,000 homes have been forced to evacuate because of a fire that started June 1 in the forest and spread to about 91 square kilometres as of Monday. Authoritie­s are still investigat­ing how the fire started.

No homes have been lost although the fire came close to buildings Sunday night, authoritie­s said. Fire managers credited advance fire mitigation work by homeowners for helping firefighte­rs save the structures.

The move comes as the residents of more than 2,000 homes have been forced to evacuate because of a fire that started on June 1 in the forest.

Experienci­ng drought

Much of the US West is experienci­ng some level of drought and the Four Corners region — where Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado meet — is at the Centre of a large patch of exceptiona­l drought.

In New Mexico, the Santa Fe National Forest, along with portions of three national park sites, closed on June 1 because of the fire danger. The Santa Fe forest is among New Mexico’s most popular getaways.

The US Forest Service also is planning to bar recreation in a handful of ranger districts in the Cibola National Forest beginning on Friday.

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