La Plata Fire Closure Area Reduced
Contact Information: Public Affairs Office sm.fs.psiccpa@usda.gov
PUEBLO, Colo., Aug. 29, 2025 – Today, forest officials reduced the size of the closure in place on National Forest System lands near the La Plata Fire in Lake and Chaffee counties.
The Leadville Ranger District issued the closure order Aug. 27, 2025, for firefighter and public safety, given the active La Plata Fire and fire suppression activity in the area. With recent and forecasted moisture and decreased fire activity, forest officials are rescinding Forest Order #02-12-01-25-17 and replacing it with Forest Order #02-12-01-25-18.
With the new order, National Forest System Road (NFSR) 391 and the southern approach to La Plata Peak from NFSR 390A/North Fork Clear Creek have reopened. La Plata Peak Trail #1474 and La Plata (North) Trailhead and Parking Lot will remain closed until Jan. 1, 2025, or until rescinded.
The 133-acre La Plata Fire started on Aug. 17, 2025, by an abandoned campfire and is 44% contained. Over 40 firefighters and overhead continue to actively suppress the fire using ground and aerial resources, including a Type 2 crew, two engines, drones and helicopters.
Firefighters are assessing conditions and risks multiple times a day to identify safe and appropriate suppression actions near or away from the active fire and containing it to natural boundaries, such as tree line and scree fields, and containment lines. Interior pockets of heat will linger until a substantial snowpack blankets the area. Warmer, drier weather may make smoke visible.
For updated information on the La Plata Fire, visit InciWeb.
About the Forest Service: The USDA Forest Service has for more than 100 years brought people and communities together to answer the call of conservation. Grounded in world-class science and technology– and rooted in communities–the Forest Service connects people to nature and to each other. The Forest Service cares for shared natural resources in ways that promote lasting economic, ecological, and social vitality. The agency manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, maintains the largest wildland fire and forestry research organizations in the world. The Forest Service also has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 900 million forested acres within the U.S., of which over 130 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live.
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