County emergency management and fire officials updated the Ouray County Board of County Commissioners on June 4 about the Snowshed Fire, first reported on Sunday near Mile Marker 88 on Highway 550.

Glenn (county emergency management lead) and fire officials said the fire burned steep, rugged terrain and that preliminary estimates indicated about 90% of the fire area lay within U.S. Forest Service jurisdiction. After the jurisdictional determination the Forest Service assumed incident command and the response continued as a multi-agency operation; county personnel and vehicles from the sheriff's office, EMS and emergency management supported the response.

At the time of the briefing the fire was estimated at 50% contained with roughly 40 personnel assigned, including Forest Service and BLM resources and local engines and tenders. The county had staffed 1 dedicated paramedic on scene, and the highway remained open with advisories for motorists to watch for falling debris and responders near the road. Officials said the only direct county costs to date had been personnel and vehicle expenses for sheriff, EMS and emergency management.

Responders conducted aerial heat-mapping flights with a DFPC (Division of Fire Prevention and Control) aircraft to locate hot spots; those observations contributed to active mop-up and combustible-spot suppression. Officials said wind and terrain complicated aircraft drops. Glenn and sheriff’s staff said cause remained under investigation, but preliminary information made natural causes unlikely; they also disputed some circulating rumors and said the ignition point lay roughly 100 feet above the highway and about 100 yards from the road.

County officials thanked local businesses and residents who provided support to crews, including hot meals and staging space; the City of Ouray offered Follins Park for responder staging and limited facilities. Commissioners asked about radio and repeater communications; officials acknowledged VHF/repeater limitations in parts of the burn area and said coordination and briefings were being used to mitigate communications gaps. Commissioners also asked whether suppression was the strategy; incident managers confirmed full suppression mode, including work to extinguish hot spots and mop-up operations.

Ending: Officials said the Forest Service was leading the incident and that the fire appeared to be laying down with hopeful expectations that it could be wrapped soon; the county would continue to support operations and report developments to commissioners as needed.