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Mandatory evacuation issued for Forest Road 628

Pagosa Springs, Colo., June 28, 2023—The Chris Mountain Fire on the San Juan National Forest Pagosa Ranger District was reported on June 28th, 2023 at 3:00pm. The 120-acre fire is burning on Chris Mountain, located approximately 12 miles west of Pagosa Springs, north of Highway 160. Archuleta County has issued mandatory evacuations for Forest Road 628, effective June 28th, 2023. To sign up for emergency notifications, visit the Archuleta County Emergency Operations website and to get current evacuation information visit their Facebook page.

The Chris Mountain Fire is burning in Ponderosa Pine and timber. Fire behavior in the afternoon was crowning and spotting with 50 to 100-foot flame lengths. The local San Juan National Forest Type 3 Incident Management Team will take command of the fire on June 29th.

Smoke from the Chris Mountain will be visible to surrounding communities for the duration of the fire. Chris Mountain Fire smoke may affect your health. For more information, please go to: https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health  

The San Juan National Forest will continue to provide additional incident updates as needed. Official incident information can also be found at: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/cosjf-chris-mountain-fire or the San Juan National Forest social media: Twitter and Facebook.

For questions, please contact the San Juan National Forest Public Information Officer – Lorena Williams at 970-422-2939. 

-USDA-

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