Wildfire reported between Woody Creek, Starwood neighborhood

The Aspen Fire Protection District was dispatched around 3:38 p.m. Sunday after multiple callers reported visible smoke on the backside of Red Mountain near the Lenado area, behind the Starwood neighborhood.

The smoke originated from a small wildfire in remote terrain on the south side of the Woody Creek drainage, according to a press release from the district.

“We are very grateful for the vigilance of our community members who called this fire in,” Battalion Chief Daniel Palmer, the shift commander on duty during the smoke report, said in the release. “All fires begin small, and early, coordinated response is crucial to keeping them that way.”

As of 6:44 p.m. Sunday, the fire appeared to be burning in timber on U.S. Forest Service land, the press release confirms. Aspen Fire initially dispatched several units to investigate and coordinated with Pitkin County Sheriff’s deputies — once the fire was confirmed to be on federal land, Aspen Fire alerted the Grand Junction Interagency Fire Management Unit.

Federal crews arrived in town last night and are headed to the wildfire this morning, CEO/Fire Chief of Aspen Fire Jake Andersen confirmed to The Aspen Times.

Currently, the cause and exact size of the fire remain unknown, according to the press release. The smoke is readily visible from Highway 82 when traveling upvalley.

Aspen Fire and its partners are monitoring the fire through the PANO AI Camera network.

“While conditions have moderated significantly from the extremes we experienced this summer, we remain poised to respond and assist our partners in ensuring these fires remain small and are contained quickly,” Andersen said in the release. “Our mutual aid partnerships in response, and through our PANO camera program, have produced several success stories this summer, and we are committed to ensuring this is another one.”

For questions or additional information, contact Battalion 6 at battalion6@aspenfire.com or 970-452-7587.