SILVERTHORNE, Colo. (KDVR) — The Ptarmigan Fire started Monday afternoon just east of Silverthorne and north of Interstate 70. As of Tuesday afternoon, it has burned 83 acres and is close to residential areas.
On Monday when the fire started, the weather was dry, warm, and breezy in the mountains. Big changes are moving in over the next 24 hours that should significantly help in the fight.
Looking at wind gusts through Wednesday afternoon, winds are expected to stay under 10 mph for the most part with little to no gusts near the site of the fire. It will be gusty in parts of the state Tuesday night and Wednesday but the strongest of them will stay well east of the fire.
Winds play a big role in how fires grow and spread so the calmer winds should help prevent massive spreading in the next day or two.
Humidity is continuing to go up near the fire and this trend will stay for Wednesday. The relative humidity in Silverthorne Wednesday afternoon will be in the 70% range. This is a huge improvement from humidity in the 20-30% range that was in the mountains on Monday.
Along with the humidity, precipitation will return to the mountains Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday. Some of this will fall as rain and some as snow in the higher elevations.
The graphic below shows a snapshot of Futurecast from 3 p.m. on Wednesday where there is rain and snow chances just east of the fire. It is likely that some precipitation will fall on the Ptarmigan Fire over the next 48 hours as a storm system rolls through Colorado.
