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Wildfires in Colorado are burning almost 15,000 hectares, see jumps in containment
A series of wildfires across Colorado this week burned nearly 15,000 acres, but firefighters are starting to take control.
As of Saturday, there was only one fire: the Bucktail fire, The fire was 0% contained on nearly 3,000 acres in Montrose County, near Nucla and the Uncompahgre National Forest, according to fire officials.
The fire damaged no homes and no evacuations have been ordered, according to the wildfire monitoring website Inciweb.
The three fires actively burning in Colorado’s Front Range all saw big jumps in containment on Saturday.
As of Saturday evening, the Jefferson County Quarry fire was 20% contained, the Alexander Mountain fire in Larimer County was 32% contained and the Stone Canyon fire in Boulder and Larimer counties was 53% contained .
“We’re getting to the point where we’re not running from the fire, we’re taking control of the fire,” Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Mark Techmeyer said Saturday evening.
The quarry fire and the fatal Stone Canyon fire are believed to be human-caused, and county officials have opened an arson investigation.
Jefferson County sheriff’s investigator Kevin Bost said Friday that the quarry fire at Dear Creek Canyon was likely caused by humans, but he did not indicate whether investigators believed it was intentional or accidental. He also did not say what evidence investigators found.
No updates on the Jefferson County investigation were available Saturday, but Techmeyer said an arson dog from the state had arrived to track down clues. Fire officials asked anyone with tips or home security camera footage that could be helpful to call 303-271-5612.
To the south, Stone Canyon fire investigators are getting help from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine the cause of the fire, which has burned 1,553 acres near Lyons.
The Stone Canyon fire killed one person, injured two firefighters and charred at least five homes, fire officials said.
Meanwhile, the cause of the Alexander Mountain and Bucktail fires remains under investigation.
Larimer County sheriff’s spokesman Joe Shellhammer said the forensics team responded to the scene of the fire on Alexander Mountain on Saturday, but they have not yet determined the cause — human or natural.
The quarry fire grew by 20 to 30 acres overnight Friday, bringing the total fire area to about 500 acres, fire officials said Saturday morning. The fire is the smallest of the four, but is closest to densely populated areas and has the most difficult terrain.
Techmeyer said firefighters are not only battling the heat in the area, but also rattlesnakes, bears and mountain lions.
The Alexander Mountain fire in Larimer County is the largest in Colorado.
Bee 9,668 hectaresthe Alexander Mountain fire is three times as large as the second-place Bucktail fire in Montrose County.
The Alexander Mountain fire has destroyed nearly 50 homes and buildings and damaged four others, Larimer County officials said Saturday. The burned homes were found along Cedar Creek Road, Spruce Mountain Drive, Green Ridge Road, Possum Court, Palisade Mountain Drive, Snow Top Drive and Bobcat Drive.
However, the Alexander Mountain fire also saw the biggest jump in containment on Saturday, with firefighters able to strengthen containment lines around 32% of the fire. By Friday evening, the flames were only 5% under control.
“Containment does not happen all day long,” a Larimer County spokesperson said at a news conference Saturday evening. “Containment takes place on large hectares. … We may not see a containment movement every day, but that doesn’t mean progress isn’t happening.”
He said crews need to build the fire line, clear the area, secure the line and hold it for several days before firefighters can have the confidence to say the area is fully under control.
Although the Alexander Mountain Fire Department has not lifted evacuation orders, Shellhammer said they are discussing reducing the evacuation footprint during meetings on Saturday evening and Sunday morning.
If evacuations are lifted, Shellhammer said it would be announced Sunday afternoon.
According to Techmeyer, mandatory evacuation orders had been lifted for two neighborhoods in Jefferson County as of 5 p.m. Saturday.
Residents in the Deer Creek Mesa and Kuehster neighborhoods were able to reenter their homes Saturday evening, but had to have a badge issued by the evacuation center at Dakota Ridge High School, Techmeyer said.
The evacuation center issued provisional badges for all neighborhoods between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. and will reopen at the same hours on Sunday, Techmeyer said.
Techmeyer said it’s not enough to show up with a driver’s license and show an area address; residents must have a colored badge to enter as roads in the area will remain closed to the public for a number of days.
Deer Creek Mesa is the closest neighborhood to the fire — about a quarter mile from the flames — but Techmeyer said it is also close to the safest containment line.
Techmeyer said Kuehster was chosen to lift evacuation orders for the opposite reason: It is the farthest from the flames and crews are confident the fire will not grow enough to reach the neighborhood.
According to the county’s evacuation map, the areas of McKinney Ranch, Murphy Gulch, Sampson and Maxwell are still under mandatory evacuation orders.
The neighborhoods of Hilldale Pines, Oehlmann Park, Silver Ranch, West Ranch, Homestead and Silver Ranch South are under prior evacuation notice. Now Deer Creek Mesa and Kuehster have joined them.
If evacuation orders for the Alexander Mountain fire are lifted Sunday, fire officials said they plan to implement a similar system for access to the Quarry fire — at least for areas near Cedar Park and Storm Mountain.
All the fires in the state prompted officials with the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment on Saturday to issue air pollution warnings in the Front Range and in Montrose County.
Smoke, soot and ash from forest fires can enter people’s lungs during outdoor activities and cause breathing difficulties, especially in the elderly, young children and people with heart and lung diseases such as asthma.
