By Marty Mayfield
KRTN Multi-Media
The fire call came in just before 11:00 am Friday (April 22) morning, just the thing firefighters didn’t want to hear, a grass fire had started south of Raton along Hwy 64 near the V7 Ranch.
The fire quickly spread to the north northeast making its way up Hwy 64 to I-25 near the 3-Mile bridge where it managed to jump the southbound lanes of traffic into the median. Fire Fighters quickly attacked the blaze as it approached the bridge and managed to extinguish it there, halting its progress under the bridge and further north. Firefighters from Raton Fire and Emergency Services, along with Colfax County Rapid Response units and help from the NRA Whittington Center battled the blaze.
When fire fighters arrived on the scene they literally chased the fire as it rapidly moved north. Fortunately the highway proved to be a good barrier to the fire and allowed fire fighters to extinguish the fire before it could travel further north.
I-25 and US 64 were both closed for a short time due to smoke and dust as well as the safety of fire fighters. Roads were reopened shortly before noon Friday. According to the National Weather Service ASOS/AWOS (Surface Weather Observation System) at the Raton Airport, which is a few miles further south of the fire, winds were out of the south southwest running steady at 40 mph with gusts to 58 mph.
The fire quickly jumped the south bound lane of I-25 where firefighters were able to stop the blaze as it moved toward the 3-Mile bridge over I-25.
