Woody Creek Fire contained, officials confirm

The smoke that originated from a small wildfire located on the south side of the Woody Creek drainage, between Woody Creek and Starwood, has been named the Woody Creek Fire and has been contained.

The Aspen Fire Protection District was dispatched around 3:38 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5, after multiple callers reported the visible smoke. The fire was determined to be on federal land, according to a press release, so the U.S. Forest Service was notified and dispatched a crew that located the fire that evening.

“On the morning of the 6th, crews hiked into the fire,” the press release states. “The fire was named the Woody Creek fire.”

The press release confirms the fire was burning in timber and brush, approximately half an acre in size. The cause, as determined by the federal resources on the scene, was lightning.

The fire was contained on Monday, kept to its original size of half an acre. As of mid-afternoon Tuesday, the fire is marked as controlled on WildWeb. Federal crews will continue monitoring, utilizing the PANO AI Camera network, until the fire is called out. 

“We are so grateful for our federal partners,” Jake Andersen, CEO/Fire Chief of Aspen Fire, said in the release. “This fire was located quickly after the smoke became visible, apparently a few days after we had some lightning in the area. It isn’t uncommon for it to take a day or two for fires to show, especially if they received some moisture immediately after the lightning strike that caused them. We are very happy that our federal partners were able to act quickly and decisively in keeping this fire at half an acre and preventing any further threats to people or property.”

For questions or additional information, contact Battalion 6  battalion6@aspenfire.com, 970-452-7587, or Jake Andersen jake.andersen@aspenfire.com and 970-452-7488.