Special to the PVT Jackie Zens was driving along Highway 160 Wednesday and snapped several views of the Potosi Fire, including this one in which a large area of the mountain is smoking away. Advertisement

Firefighting crews were battling three lightning ignited fires on the west side of the Spring Mountains Thursday.

The largest is the Potosi Fire on 50 acres of U.S. Bureau of Land Management property about two miles south of the Boy Scout Camp off Highway 160.

BLM Spokeswoman Hillerie Patton said about 75 firefighters were battling that blaze which she estimated was probably 15 to 20 percent contained as of early Thursday afternoon.

The Trout Canyon Fire, estimated to be burning six acres, was located on U.S. Forest Service land. The fire was situated at high elevations, well away from any structures, Patton said. Full containment was expected by Thursday evening, the BLM reported.

The Harris Springs Fire, estimated at nine acres, was located on U.S. Forest Service land on Harris Mountain. That fire was in mop-up stage and was expected to be contained Thursday. It also wasn't threatening any structures, the BLM reported.

Interagency fire crews from the BLM and forest service, arriving from the new BLM fire station at the south end of Pahrump Valley, as well as the Mountain Springs station and a Logandale fire station, are typically dispatched to fight the fires, Patton said. The fact smoke jumpers were sent in first to the Trout Canyon and Harris Springs fires indicate they were at high elevations difficult to reach with motorized vehicles, she said.

Winds were moderate but dry conditions with very low humidity helped to fuel the fires, Patton said. The blazes were burning in grass as well as pinyon and juniper stands in the Spring Mountains, she said.