Lighter winds and quieter fire behavior during the weekend allowed firefighters to increase containment of the East Canyon Fire to 79% by Sunday evening with the fire growing only 5 acres in 24 hours, but firefighters continue to battle three other blazes in Southwest Colorado.
The fire, located about 2 miles southeast of Mancos, had burned through 2,905 acres as of 8 a.m. New areas of containment include the northwest side that faces U.S. Highway 160 and includes two homes in the Elk Springs subdivision as well as most of the eastern side of the fire along the Cherry Creek Road.
The hot, dry weather shows no relief in sight, and on Sunday afternoon a red flag warning about critical weather conditions conducive to the rapid spread of wildfire was issued for Southwest Colorado from 1 p.m. Monday through 8 p.m. Monday by the National Weather Service.