BLANCA — A fire broke out Tuesday afternoon on the southside of Mount Blanca in heavy timber and brush.

Although the cause of the fire is still undetermined, nearby residents reported seeing smoke around mid-morning and thought it was either a campfire or someone burning trash near the Alamosa-Costilla County line.

By early afternoon, smoke was visible from Alamosa, and it had grown to two acres in size with no containment. Variable winds were shifting out the southwest that helped fuel the fire in spite of times when the wind appeared calm.

It was dubbed the “Tobin Fire,” named after Tobin Canyon just to the west of the fire, by Incident Commander Paul Duarte, division chief for the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) for the San Luis Valley.  He estimated the fire at 30 acres with minimal containment at 5 p.m. Tuesday.

Some homes were evacuated in the afternoon, and others put under pre-evacuation notice by officers with the Alamosa and Costilla County sheriff’s offices.

At press time there were no reports of injury or loss of structures. However, a Costilla County official estimated there are at least 30 homes within five miles of the fire, but none appeared to be in direct line of the fire.

At least 30 firefighters were on the fire line representing Alamosa and Costilla county fire departments as well as DFPC, Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and U.S. Forest Service. Hand crews were left to use some water-equipped ATVs and hand tools due to the rough and heavily vegetated terrain. The Rio Grande National Forest (USFS) also had at least nine members of a hand-crew on the scene to assist fighting the fire.

Other resources on hand included Colorado State Patrol, Alamosa County EMS, ACSO and CCSO.

At approximately 3 p.m., a BLM helicopter and helitac crew based in Cañon City was on scene, sending a ground crew of six into the fire and making dozens of water drops from a nearby irrigation pond.

Also, two Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs) based in Durango made two drops each of fire retardant, and a heavy air tanker based in Albuquerque, N.M. made two passes spreading retardant on the fire around 5 p.m.

Duarte estimated the fire at 30 acres and zero containment at 5 p.m. on Tuesday.