Vantage Highway/Cow Canyon Fires No Longer Pose Danger

Firefighting response to both the Vantage Highway and Cow Canyon fires is being downsized as they're no posing a threat to the public.

There are no evacuation notices connected to either fire and neither one is experiencing much fire activity.

Heather Appelhof is a spokesperson for both fires, and she says both could be fully contained in just a few days.

"The threat to homes, or anything like that," said Appelhof. "The fire behavior is very minimal at this time. The fire activity is very minimal at this time. And the potential for the fire to escape the fire lines is very low."

State level Type 2 response teams began managing the fires last Thursday (August 4). Those responsibilities are being turned back over to local firefighters and personnel with the Department of Natural Resources Friday.

Fire response teams that are part of the state level mobilization are broken into three categories, with Level 3 being smallest and Level 1 representing the most robust. The Level 1 teams include national, state and local personnel who join forces to work the fire.

Both fires where response is now being reduced saw quickly improving conditions this week. The Vantage Highway Fire was 90 percent contained as of Thursday morning, while the Cow Canyon Fire was 80 percent contained.

The Vantage Highway Fire still covers 30,659 acres while the Cow Canyon Fire has a seemingly smaller footprint at 5,832 acres.

In the last day of operation using state level resources the Cow Canyon Fire had 159 personnel. The Vantage Highway Fire had 154.

The cause of each fire is still under investigation.