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Wildfire Investigation Taking 'Longer Than Expected'

416 Fire
US 89
/
CC BY-SA 2.0
The 416 Fire burns on June 9, 2018.

Federal officials say an investigation into a wildfire that torched land in southwest Colorado is taking "longer than expected."

The Durango Herald reports that San Juan National Forest spokeswoman Denise Alonzo said Tuesday that the complexity of the investigation, as well as the 35-day government shutdown earlier this year, has delayed Forest Service officials from releasing a final determination.

The U.S. Forest Service had previously said a cause would be released in late fall or early winter.

The wildfire broke out June 1 and burned about 84 square miles north of Durango, forced thousands of evacuations and caused economic loss to some business and government sectors of southwest Colorado.

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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