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The Goltra Fire, which has been blazing through Jefferson County in Colorado is officially 60% contained, after burning through the area, causing road closures in Clear Creek Canyon. The fire first started to burn after a lightning strike hit the brush and started a spark. From there, the fire bloomed due to having just the right wind and heat conditions. The fire first began on Tuesday evening. The local officials and firefighters first struggled to get ahold of the flames but ultimately were able to control the sparks enough to contain the fire by 60%. An added layer to the complications lay in the fact that rattlesnake activity in the area has massively increased. With the unsteady terrain of predominantly loose rocks and rattlesnakes surrounding the area, ground crews struggled to make way in fighting the fire.

Aircraft firefighting has been the best to combat the Goltra Fire.

According to Jacki Kelley, the spokesperson of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, the fire did not experience much growth on Wednesday. With the lack of growth and the use of the aircraft firefighters, they were finally able to gain the upper hand against the fire. Amongst the firefighting, one multi-mission aircraft mapped the fire and estimated it’s size to be around 204 acres by Wednesday afternoon. Through the day yesterday, they were focusing on cutting down the perimeter of the fire, which they were able to do quite well.

Currently, they have about 65 firefighters working on the ground to get the fire under control.

The good news is that, despite the difficult to navigate terrain, the wind has died down quite a bit. Additionally, the firefighting team have had access to a nearby water source, which has allowed them to conveniently go after the fire. Also on the good news side of things, no homes have been thus far threatened by the fire and none are believed to be at any sort of risk, especially now that they are getting some containment underway.

The US Highway 6 west of the city of Golden is still closed, but the Colorado Department of Transportation is hopeful to get the highway and other road closures open soon. In the press conference speech, Kelley stated that the fire came all the way to directly reaching the road, but never was able to make the leap across.