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U.S. Highway 50 closed in western Colorado as new wildfire sparks
State fire officials said on Sunday that U.S. Highway 50 is closed in western Colorado after a new wildfire sparked in Montrose County.
Fire officials are calling this new fire the Kinikin Fire and it has closed U.S. 50 at Mile Marker 102, about 8 miles east of the center of the city of Montrose.
An Aircraft has been ordered to help combat the fire, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control said, and resources that were being used to fight the nearby South Rim Fire are being sent to help with the Kinikin Fire.
Highway 92 is serving as a detour and there was no immediate word on when U.S. 50 would reopen, the Gunnison Regional 911 Center said on social media.
Information about acreage and information wasn't immediately available, but a photo from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control showed a large plume of smoke adjacent to the highway with a line of cars in the road.
Southwestern Colorado is still experiencing the impacts of several large wildfires, despite recent gains in containment efforts.
