This story was last updated at 10:40pm on Sun., May 8.
Fire crews contained two small wildfires today in the Roaring Fork watershed – one about 6.5 miles up Castle Creek Road from the Aspen roundabout and another near Ruedi Reservoir.
No evacuations were ordered for either fire.
The first fire broke out near the intersection of Castle Creek Road and Little Annie Road around 3 p.m. The roughly 1.5-acre fire was "contained and controlled" and Castle Creek Road was reopened by about 6 p.m., according to Jake Andersen, the deputy chief of operations for the Aspen Fire Protection District.
"I don't believe there is any danger to the public at this time," he said.
Several agencies responded to the fire including the Aspen Fire Protection District, the Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, the Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Authority, and the Upper Colorado River Interagency Fire Management Unit.
"The cause is still under investigation, but there was within the fire perimeter a tree that impacted a power line," Andersen said. "The fire was driven by heavy winds in excess of 30 miles an hour."
Around 5 p.m., crews were dispatched to respond to another wildfire in the Ruedi Creek area between McLaughlin Road and Ruedi Road.
Homeowners in the area were already on the scene with hoses when firefighters arrived according to Chance Goldyn, the battalion chief for the Roaring Fork Fire Rescue Authority.
Goldyn said crews were able to contain and then fully extinguish the quarter-acre fire "relatively quickly."
According to Goldyn, the fire was likely caused by a tree falling on power lines near Ruedi Creek.
