Poitrey Canyon Fire holds at 2,113 acres, containment rises to 45 percent

Fire crews saw the Poitrey Canyon Fire stop growing overnight, a shift that matters for Kim-area residents because the blaze held at 2,113 acres and containment climbed to 45 percent. The footprint stayed flat northwest of Kim, where dry grass and open terrain had helped the fire spread quickly earlier in the week.

The update marked a sharp turn from the fire’s first days. The blaze was reported at 676 acres on April 24, rose to 2,065 acres by Monday, and reached 2,113 acres by April 27. Until later in the week, containment remained at 0 percent while single-engine air tankers, large air tankers and helicopters helped ground crews work the fire’s edge.

Sunday’s change in command placed the investigation under the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control as part of Gov. Jared Polis’ disaster emergency declaration. That shift underscored how seriously state officials were treating the incident as it moved across rural ground in Las Animas County.

A 45 percent containment line gives crews a stronger hold, but it does not end the public-safety concern. Hot spots can still flare if winds pick up, smoke can still drift through nearby corridors, and ranching operations can still be disrupted when access is limited around a working fire line. For a county that relies on volunteer and paid departments spread across wide distances, every acre held matters because it keeps resources from being pulled deeper into the next emergency.

Weather remains the biggest variable. A Red Flag Warning covered western and eastern Las Animas County on April 26, with southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph, gusts up to 45 mph and relative humidity as low as 13 percent. Southern Colorado had already logged 25 Red Flag Warning days by March 13, a pace that has left the region under repeated fire danger through the spring.

The Kim area has seen this before. In April 2025, a 2,200-acre fire east of Kim was fully contained with help from the Kim Area Volunteer Fire Department and Ambulance Service, along with the Springfield Volunteer Fire Department, Pritchett Volunteer Fire Department, La Junta Fire Department, Rocky Ford Fire Department, Walsh Ambulance Service and Campo Volunteer Fire Department. That history now frames the Poitrey Canyon Fire, where the next stretch of dry wind will determine whether crews can keep turning containment into full control.