Steamboat Pilot & Today

Steamboat Springs — The Mount Zirkel Complex and the Lost Lakes/Big Fish fires are still active, fueled to some extent by a stretch of warm and dry weather.

Crews continue to make progress toward containment, Forest Service officials reported Monday. The Mount Zirkel Complex, comprised of the Hinman and Burn Ridge fires, was expected to be at 61 percent containment by Monday night.

Cooler temperatures and the high humidity Sunday helped firefighters on the Mount Zirkel Complex improve fire lines and mop up hot areas. But dry and hot conditions Monday increased fire behavior.

Smoke seen from the Mount Zirkel Complex and the Lost Lakes/Big Fish fires is simply a result of the weather conditions, said Bob Bayer, spokesperson for the Forest Service.

He said more smoke would be visible from the north side of the Hinman fire and from the south side of the Burn Ridge fire.

"It has been pretty quiet but (today) we will see a little higher flames," Bayer said.

Crews continue to hold the line on the west ends of both fires and the east flank of the Burn Ridge fire toward Walden.

A new Type 1 team assumed command of the Mount Zirkel Complex fire Monday. Wally Bennett's Northern Rockies Type I Incident Management team replaced a team that had worked on the fire for 14 days.

The new team includes 933 people.

Fire management workers continued mop-up efforts further in from containment lines.

The Big Fish and Lost Lakes fires increased in fire behavior under breezy conditions.

Area closures are still in effect. Torching and short runs were observed in the Paradise Creek and Pyramid Peak area.