On Sunday afternoon two neighborhood areas in Eagle County were put under evacuation notice as a safety precaution when what had been a small wildfire began to grow. The wildfire area is two to 2.5 miles south of Sylvan Lake and is burning in the White River National Forest.
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The areas under evacuation notice are near Sylvan Lake State Park, and Hardscrabble in Eagle. The fire is within a mile of the campgrounds at Sylvan Lake State Park. The fire was reported late Sunday afternoon and estimated to be around 90 acres, but it quickly doubled in size to 180 acres.
The Vaily Daily reported that the local forest service spokesperson David Boyd said the best estimate crews had on the ground as of nightfall put the fire at about 180 acres — a little more than a quarter of a square mile in size. There hasn’t been a size report since that time, as a flyover is necessary to assess the current boundaries of the wildfire. There is no word on the cause.
At the moment, the main area of concern is an Xcel Energy transmission cable in the area.
Mid last week, Eagle County had moved to Level 1 fire restrictions, due to dangerously dry conditions throughout the area. Eagle is just one of dozens of Central and Western Colorado counties experiencing severe drought restrictions, where officials are becoming more concerned as the drought deepens.
Long-time mountain residents are hoping for an early return of the normal summer monsoon flow, which was largely absent last year.
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