Two fire personnel were hospitalized and 273 had to be quarantined while the fire was being suppressed
Continue readingFirefighter on Cameron Peak Fire developed COVID-19, spent 39 days on a ventilator
December 1, 2020 | 10:39 a.m. MDT
After Jason Phillips worked for three weeks fighting the Cameron Peak Fire in Colorado, he then spent more than five weeks on a ventilator. Mr. Phillips is a firefighter based in Washington state and works for a wildfire contractor, Choleta Fire Services.
On August 25 he came down with COVID-19 symptoms.
“By that afternoon, my life was turned upside down. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t keep [anything] down. My whole entire body was shaking so bad, I couldn’t hold a pencil to write my own name,” Mr. Phillips said.
According to 9News, he tested negative for COVID-19 at the Poudre Valley Hospital emergency room. He left, then came back later, tested positive and was put on a ventilator in the intensive care unit. Doctors said at the time he had a 50-50 chance of surviving.
After being released from the ICU he was sent to an acute care and rehab facility. He hopes to return home this week but is partially paralyzed from the waist down.
There are reports that during the course of the Cameron Peak Fire dozens of personnel were quarantined after possible exposure to COVID-19.
In early November a spokesperson for the U.S. Forest Service said 219 of their firefighters had tested positive for COVID-19 this year. CAL FIRE said at the time 141 of their employees had tested positive.
Since it started August 13, 2020 the Cameron Peak Fire, the largest in the recorded history of Colorado, has burned 208,913 acres, destroyed 444 structures, and has cost over $133 million to suppress. There are still 271 personnel assigned including 3 hand crews, 10 engines, and 1 helicopter.
Update at 4:10 p.m. MDT December 1, 2020. This article originally mentioned that Mr. Phillips was a U.S. Forest Service firefighter, based on reporting by 9News. Subsequently, we found that he was not a USFS employee and works for a contractor, Choleta, instead. 9News will be editing their article.
Cameron Peak Fire spreads south and east
The fire is west of Fort Collins, Colorado
Continue readingStrong winds push Cameron Peak Fire east, prompting more evacuations
The 135,000-acre fire is west of Fort Collins, Colorado
Continue readingRain and snow slow Mullen and Cameron Peak Fires in Colorado and Wyoming
Very strong, dry winds, and sun are in the forecast
Continue readingCameron Peak Fire threatens Mountain Campus of Colorado St. Univ.
The 131,231-acre Cameron Peak Fire threatened to spread through the Mountain Campus of Colorado State University Friday afternoon. The fire is 20 air miles west of Fort Collins, CO.
At 1:54 p.m MDT a satellite detected heat from the fire just west of the facilities. Wind out of the southwest at 9 to 12 mph with gusts to 24 were recorded at a weather station near the campus Friday afternoon. The breezy conditions with 15 percent relative humidity and low fuel moisture set up a situation that put the facilities at risk.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Cameron Peak Fire, including the most recent, click here.
The area near the campus was the part of the fire showing the most heat during the satellite overflight.
“I am deeply sorry to have to tell you all that according to our teams on the ground, the Cameron Peak Fire is expected to move through our Mountain Campus today,” said CSU President Joyce McConnell in a message on the University’s web site Friday October 9. “Fire activity picked up at 1:30 this morning and today is expected to be a very active fire day, with low humidity and extreme fire behavior. I can assure you that the Incident Command Center Crew has strong point protection in place at the campus, including hoses, portable water reservoirs, and sprinklers. The crews have been working on this plan for weeks; in the early stages of the fire they did mitigation around the campus that will be helpful as well. They have also focused on protecting other threatened structures in the area.”
Additional evacuations were ordered around the Cameron Peak Fire Friday.
Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to L M.
Mullen Fire reaches Albany, Wyoming
Updates on the Middle Fork and Cameron Peak fires in Colorado
Continue readingMullen Fire spreads from Wyoming into Colorado
Evacuations are in effect
Continue readingEngine crew on Cameron Peak Fire tests positive for COVID-19
Beginning next week at the fire west of Fort Collins, Colorado, personnel will be tested as they are demobilized if they request it
Continue readingFour large wildfires keep firefighters in Colorado busy
August 15, 2020 | 10 a.m.
A week ago when I was talking with a colleague about the national wildfire situation we agreed there was a “lull” in the action. With new fires in California and Colorado since then, that has changed.
In southern California on August 12 the Lake Fire west of Lancaster grew large enough 29 minutes after it was reported to create pyrocumulus clouds above the smoke column. Three hours later it was 10,000 acres and Friday had blackened at least 17,000 acres.
But much of the focus has turned Colorado where four large fires are out of control.
The Pine Gulch Fire 15 miles north of Grand Junction, Colorado at 73,381 acres Saturday became the fourth largest fire in the recorded history of the state. The Rocky Mountain Type 1 Incident Management Team with Dan Dallas as Incident Commander assumed command of the Friday morning after transitioning with the type 2 team.
The Grizzly Creek Fire just east of Glenwood Springs has been adding thousands of acres every day since it started August 10. Interstate 70 has been closed since then due to the fire.
More information about the Grizzly Creek Fire on Wildfire Today.
The newest of the four large fires in Colorado is the Williams Fork Fire 10 air miles southeast of Williams Fork Reservoir and 19 miles southeast of Kremmling reported just before noon Friday August 14. Firefighters estimated Friday night it was 1,300 acres and said it is exhibiting extreme fire behavior as it moves east and northeast toward Church Park. The fire is currently holding east of CR 30 and south of Keyser Creek in an area with intensive beetle kill from the early 2000s. Henderson Mill and its infrastructure along with multiple other utilities are in the immediate area.
The Cameron Peak Fire has been burning since August 13 in the Rawah Wilderness on the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests near Highway 14 and Chambers Lake. It is 36 air miles west of Fort Collins, Colorado and as of Friday night had burned about 5,424 acres. Mike Haydon’s Type 2 Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Blue will assume command today, August 15. The Cameron Peak Fire started west of Chambers Lake and has crossed Highway 14 to the east, burning nearly 800 acres on the south side of the highway.
To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Cameron Peak Fire including the most recent, click here.
