Wildfire crews prepare to go on the offensive, protect Colorado town with focused burns

Having tentatively established defensive lines around the uncontrolled Oak Ridge Fire west of Pueblo, wildfire crews are now planning to set their own fires in the coming days to old growth forest in an effort to stymy the fire's threat to a nearby town.

Crews have extinguished most hot spots along the eastern edge of the blaze, according to a daily update send from fire command. Today, additional personnel are being positioned along that portion of the fire perimeter in anticipation of burnout operations, or the setting of a series of small fires intended to use up flammable materials in a more controlled fashion.

The goal is create a better buffer between that eastern edge of the fire and the town Beulah, the nearest population center.

"Records show there hasn't been any fire inside and outside the current fire perimeter for over 100 years," fire command's daily update stated Saturday morning. "This has allowed the area between the Junkens (sic) Fire burn scar to the north and the Mason Gulch Fire burn scar to the south to become overgrown and dense. If fuels aren't reduced, it's not a matter of if fire will occur, it's a matter of when. Reducing the fuels will provide a higher rate of success of keeping wildland fire away from Beulah and other surrounding communities."

The Mason Gulch Fire torched over 8,000 acres in 2005 and caused the evacuation of Beulah. It was started by lightning, the same cause for the current Oak Ridge incident.   

The Junkins Fire burned more than 18,000 acres and destroyed nine homes in 2016. 

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The latest measurements have the Oak Ridge Fire at 1,156 acres in size. 

Fire officials are less concerned with the fire's western edge. The landscape in that area is steep and rugged, and firefighters have a smaller chance to safely escape any flareup there.

Homes along the Middle Creek Canyon Road are still under a mandatory evacuation. That road is closed to the public during the firefight. A handful of other communities on Vine Mesa, Cascade Avenue, Pine Avenue and Beulah Highlands Road have been ordered to be prepared to evacuate. 

Wind gusts up to 60 mph are forecast as thunderstorms move into the area this afternoon.