KUSA – The 416 Fire burning 13 miles north of Durango did not grow overnight Sunday into Monday and remained at 34,161 acres, according to the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team.
The fire which started June 1, is 30 percent contained.
By noon Sunday, all residents were allowed to return home in Hermosa after a lengthy evacuation - all businesses were allowed to return to normal operations as well.
Staffing for the fire will be reduced overnight Sunday into Monday as the fire's behavior has calmed and containment has increased another 15 percent. Overnight, the Incident Management Team will staff five engines, a task force leader and a division supervisor patrolling and monitoring the fire perimeter.
In good weather news, most areas of the fire received about 0.65 to 0.90 inches of rain on Sunday, the Incident Management Team said.
The weather caused some firefighting trouble, however, as the wet and muddy road conditions kept crews from being able to access a section of the fire for most of the day.
U.S. Highway 550 opened without an escort as of 8 a.m. on Sunday.
There are several briefings scheduled for Monday. They include:
- Durango Joes by Rite Aid at 9:30 am
- TrueValue on Trimble at 11:30 am
- Evacuation Center (Escalante Middle School) at noon
- Silverton Post Office at 2:00 pm
Despite the national attention the fires have received, Gov. John Hickenlooper held a news conference Wednesday morning emphasizing that Durango remains “open for business” and the worst thing tourists can do is cancel their trips to the region.
The entire San Juan National Forest remains closed to the public due to firefighting activity.
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