Thursday’s snowfall brought a welcome pause to two fires burning in the area. After a long stretch of dry, windy conditions, officials say the snow and low temperatures helped to slow the Middle Mamm and Granite Lake Fires.
The Middle Mamm fire, which is burning on just over 1000 acres about 10 miles south of Rifle, received about an inch of snow.
On Tuesday, the Garfield County Sheriff’s office issued a pre-evacuation order for about 10 households, but lifted the order as the snow fell on Thursday morning.
While the Middle Mamm could be fully extinguished by a heavy snowfall, Thursday’s precipitation was not nearly enough to put it to an end. And the return of warmer conditions over the weekend will likely keep it burning until a more substantial snowfall makes its way to the area.
“Looking at the forecast going out Saturday and Sunday, we're going to be back in the 70s,” said Brant Porter, a spokesman for Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black.