Emergency crews were called to a vegetation fire south of Chautauqua on Sunday night, reaching the scene around 9:20 p.m. and finding flames about 100 feet west of a watershed area near the top of Mesa Canyon Drive. By 10 p.m., officials estimated the blaze at between half an acre and an acre.
About five crews, or roughly 15 personnel, were sent to the fire, and Boulder police were asked to stand by in case evacuations became necessary. A drone was also deployed to help assess the flames as crews worked the scene. Firefighters began putting water on the fire around 10:10 p.m., and by 10:25 p.m. they said it was no longer expanding.
By about 11:10 p.m., Boulder Fire-Rescue said the fire had settled at about half an acre, was roughly 50% contained and was no longer advancing. Officials said Monday morning at 9:45 a.m. that it was still not entirely contained.
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The fire was the second wildfire near Chautauqua this year, following February’s Bluebell Fire, which burned about 1.5 acres, prompted evacuations of nearby trails and drew more than 100 firefighters. Chautauqua is a well-known Boulder area with trail access nearby, which made the response especially sensitive as crews weighed the possibility of evacuations.
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Fire officials said the conditions feeding the fire were already lining up for a difficult spring: fuels are fully cured, snowpack is far below normal and red flag days have arrived earlier than usual. That means even a small fire near me can turn into a fast-moving problem before crews have much time to contain it.
