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Peak 2 Fire near Breckenridge slowed overnight

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 3 Comments on Peak 2 Fire near Breckenridge slowed overnight

Above: Map of the Peak 2 Fire (shown in pink) created by the incident management team at 9:03 p.m. MDT July 5, 2017.

(Originally published at 7:55 a.m. MDT July 6, 2017)

The Peak 2 Fire two miles north of the ski runs at Breckenridge, Colorado slowed late Wednesday afternoon and at 7 a.m. Thursday showed very little vigorous fire activity.

At 7 p.m. Wednesday Colorado’s Multi Mission Aircraft mapped it at 84 acres.

Structures are threatened and evacuations are in effect for the Peak 7 housing development.

The photo below was posted at 6:41 a.m. Thursday by Carol McKinley.

The fire was reported at about 11 a.m. Wednesday near the ski resort 50 air miles west of Denver. Aircraft worked the fire that afternoon, along with eight Boise smokejumpers and a hotshot crew. Additional resources have been ordered.

At a media briefing Wednesday it was announced that a Type 1 Incident Management Team would arrive at the fire on Thursday.

The weather forecast for the fire area at 10,000 feet calls for 78 degrees, 26 percent relative humidity, and northwest winds of 8 mph gusting to 13.

The video below was shot Wednesday before the fire activity slowed late in the afternoon.


And below, another photo shot during the height of activity on the Peak 2 Fire near Breckenridge at 3 p.m.

Peak 2 Fire causes evacuations north of Breckenridge, Colorado

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

In the map above of the Peak 2 Fire, the red dots represent heat detected by a satellite at 3:54 p.m. MDT July 5, 2017.

(Originally published at 6:41 p.m. MDT July 5, 2017)
(Updated at 7:25 p.m. MDT July 5, 2017)

The Peak 2 Fire spread rapidly after it was reported just after 11 a.m. Wednesday morning between Breckenridge and Frisco near popular ski areas 50 air miles west of Denver. It is 2 miles north of the northernmost ski runs at Breckenridge.

At 5 p.m. fire officials estimated the size at 80 acres. According to Summit County the community of Peak 7, approximately 463 residences, is under evacuation. Residents of Breckenridge, Gold Hill and Silver Shekel have been asked to prepare for evacuation.

No structures have been destroyed and Highway 9 is open.

Aircraft have been working the fire, as well as eight Boise smokejumpers and a hotshot crew. Additional resources have been ordered.

The fire is being managed under the Unified Command of the US Forest Service, the Summit County Sheriff, and the Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District. Bill Jackson the local US Forest Service District Ranger on the White River National Forest said in a 7 p.m. briefing that a Type 1 Incident Management Team will assume command at noon on Thursday.

There are reports that late in the afternoon the fire activity decreased, but below are photos from earlier in the day as the fire was spreading more rapidly.

Firefighters on Burro Fire make stand at Redington Pass Road

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags ,

On the map of the Burro Fire, above, the red and brown squares on the north and southeast sides indicate new growth Tuesday and Tuesday night. The red line was the perimeter early Tuesday morning. The white line shows where it was early Monday morning.

(Originally published at 10:10 a.m. MDT July 5, 2017)

Firefighters battling the Burro Fire northeast of Tucson, Arizona were also fighting extreme heat again Tuesday. On the southeast side of the fire they successfully kept the fire north of Redington Pass Road and protected ranch buildings in the area.

On the northeast side steep, rugged terrain and a lack of roads means directly confronting the fire will be very difficult, at best. For now they will rely mainly on air resources to slow the fire’s progress in this area. Contingency plans are in place, should fire activity become a threat to infrastructure or other resources.

The Incident Management Team said Wednesday morning the fire had been mapped at 23,238 acres, growth of more than 4,000 acres from the day before.

Resources assigned to the fire include 594 total personal, 14 hand crews, 33 engines, 19 water tenders and 7 helicopters. The number of air tankers varies throughout the day.

Evacuations are still in effect along the Catalina Highway from Mile Marker 0, north including Summerhaven.

The weather forecast for Wednesday at the 4,000-foot level on the Redington Pass Road where firefighters are presently working predicts 102 degrees, 12 percent relative humidity, and northwest winds at 12 mph gusting to 17.

Check out this 57-second video of Fire Behavior Analyst Stewart Turner describing the expected fire activity for Wednesday.

In the video below, I don’t know about a “storm”, but the Burro Fire, like many rapidly spreading intense fires, did create a pyrocumulus cloud (in the left part of the image).

The July Fire burns 1,000+ acres near Zortman, Montana

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags , 2 Comments on The July Fire burns 1,000+ acres near Zortman, Montana

Above: Photo of the July Fire. Inciweb, July 3, 2017.  

(Originally published at 8:30 p.m. MDT July 4, 2017)
(Updated at 10:16 p.m. MDT July 4, 2017)

(At about 10 p.m. July 4 the BLM said the July fire had burned 1,669 acres and had 136 personnel assigned.)

One of the first significant wildfires in Montana this year is burning near the small town of Zortman off U.S. Highway 191 in the north-central part of the state 75 miles south of the Canadian border.

There is not a lot of timber in that part of the state but it is burning in the southern end of a 60,000-acre area of mixed timber on Bureau of Land Management lands.

3-D Map July Fire Montana
3-D map of the July Fire, as of 2:30 p.m. MDT July 4, 2017.

It is being battled by firefighters from BLM,
U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Phillips County Volunteers.

After it was discovered Monday afternoon it was attacked by 11 engines, 1 water tender, 4 air tankers (1 heavy and 3 SEATs), 3 helicopters, and 8 smokejumpers from West Yellowstone.

Our very unofficial estimate based on satellite data indicates that as of 2:30 p.m. MDT on Tuesday it had burned approximately 1,150 acres.

Zortman, with a population of 69 in the 2010 census, could be threatened by the fire west of town on Wednesday, with the forecast of Red Flag Warnings, 13 percent relative humidity, and northwest winds of 5 to 15 mph with gusts up to 25 mph.

In the video below, apparently the videographer missed the air tanker that is usually a few seconds behind the lead plane after they pop smoke.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Chris.
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