Wildfire Today

News and opinion about wildland fire

Wildfire Today

Tag: Colorado

Decker Fire grows to over 8,000 acres

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags ,

Rapid spread of the fire Sunday forced fire crews to escape to a safety zone

map of the Decker Fire
3-D map of the Decker Fire at 7:02 p.m. MDT Oct. 13, 2019. The red shaded areas represent intense heat. Looking southwest. Click to enlarge.

UPDATED at 10:25 p.m. MDT Oct. 14, 2019

The Decker Fire has ordered nine more 20-person hand crews. They will be Type 2 IA (Initial Attack) crews coming all the way from Oregon.

The weather near Salida is not expected to be extreme through Thursday; the winds will be from the west or southwest at less than 11 to 14 mph but the humidity will be very low — single digits during the day and in the 30s at night. But beginning Friday and through the weekend the wind will increase to the mid-teens with gusts in the 30s. There is a chance of rain or snow on Sunday.

Those crews might be handy to have around on Friday and Saturday, and also to get more line construction and mopup done before the winds arrive.

4:02 p.m. MDT Oct. 14, 2019

The Decker Fire three miles south of Salida, Colorado continues to grow and Sunday put firefighters in a precarious situation. After the fire crossed fire lines on both the east and west sides following three days of Red Flag Warnings firefighters on the northeast side working to stop the spread had to use escape routes to take refuge in safety zones. After taking accountability to ensure all were safe, they reengaged after the fire activity decreased.

(To see all of the articles on Wildfire Today about the Decker Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

More fire crews and aircraft have been requested and new evacuation orders for residents issued.

The 8,118-acre lightning-caused fire has been burning for about five weeks and is being “managed” or herded around, rather than fully suppressed.

For evacuation  information contact the Chaffee County Sheriff’s Office, 719-539-2596, or Fremont County Emergency Management, 719-276-7416, 719-276-7418, or visit the Chaffee County Sheriff or Fremont County Sheriff Facebook pages and websites.

Resources assigned to the fire include: 18 hand crews, 27 fire engines, 4 dozers, 8 water tenders, and 7 helicopters for a total of 707 personnel.

Map Decker Fire
Map of the Decker Fire at 7:02 p.m. MDT Oct. 13, 2019. The red shaded areas represent intense heat.

The video below that shows the smoke column blowing rapidly off to the left is time-lapse, not real time.

Firefighters to conduct aerial ignition operation on the Decker Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags ,

The fire has burned 6,155 acres south of Salida, Colorado

Above: The west side of the Decker Fire, October 5, 2019. InciWeb.

11:44 a.m. MDT October 6, 2019

Even though the Decker Fire south of Salida, Colorado is not a full suppression fire, quite a bit of fireline has been constructed on the perimeter. However, Mark Giacoletto’s Type 1 Incident Management Team reports that only 5 percent of the fire is contained.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Decker Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

Most of the recent fire activity has occurred on the west side (see map below). Over the last two days the fire has grown by 331 acres, bringing the total to 6,155 acres.

The photo at the top of the article shows that portions of the fire on the west side are creeping into stands of Aspen, which can slow the spread considerably.

map Decker Fire
Map showing the perimeter of the Decker Fire (in red) at 10:08 p.m. MDT Oct. 5, 2019. The white line was the perimeter about 48 hours before.

Residents may see more smoke in the area Monday as fire managers burn out some areas on the east side. The objective is to remove fuel and slow the spread of the main fire. The aerial ignition operation will be conducted from a helicopter.

Resources assigned to the fire include: 23 hand crews, 28 engines, 3 dozers, 6 helicopters, 3 fixed wing aircraft, and 10 water tenders for a total of 806 personnel.

There is now an interactive map available for the Decker Fire at https://arcg.is/1zPGWH. It will allow you to enter your address to see your location relative to the fire, it provides a measuring tool to measure distance, and can give hunters information related to forest closures. The fire perimeter on the map will be updated once a day.

Satellite photo of smoke from the Decker Fire

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags ,

The fire has burned over 4,000 acres south of Salida, Colorado

This satellite photo shows smoke from the Decker Fire Wednesday evening as the lights were starting to be turned on in the Denver and Colorado Springs areas.

The fire has burned approximately 4,000 acres.

More information about the Decker Fire.

Decker Fire activity increases south of Salida, Colorado

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories WildfireTags , 8 Comments on Decker Fire activity increases south of Salida, Colorado

Due to crowning, extreme fire behavior, and rapid growth a Type 1 Team has been ordered

map 3-d decker fire colorado
3-D map showing the perimeter of the Decker Fire 5 miles south of Salida, Colorado Monday evening, Sept. 30, 2019. Looking toward the northwest. Click to enlarge.

(Originally published at 6:38 p.m. MDT October 1, 2019)

Firefighters have been herding around the Decker Fire that has been burning since September 8 five miles south of Salida, Colorado. (see map) But 16 percent relative humidity and strong winds gusting out of the south at over 40 mph Tuesday afternoon caused the fire to spread toward the north and northeast. Late Tuesday afternoon a very large plume of smoke could be seen by a satellite moving northeast in the general direction of Denver 95 miles to the northeast.

(To see all articles on Wildfire Today about the Decker Fire, including the most recent, click here.)

satellite photo smoke decker fire colorado
Satellite photo showing smoke from the Decker Fire at 5:05 p.m. MDT Oct. 1, 2019.

In response to the extreme fire behavior and crown fires seen on Tuesday, a Type 1 Incident Management Team, the Rocky Mountain Team, has been ordered is scheduled to in-brief at 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

A mapping flight Monday night determined that the fire had burned 2,206 acres. At that time most of the fire activity was on the north and northwest sides. Spot fires have occurred east of Methodist Mountain, with one just a quarter mile away from the communications towers on the peak.

Tuesday night the temperature at the elevation of the fire, about 10,000 feet, will drop to 37 degrees but the humidity will remain fairly low for nighttime at that elevation, around 38 percent. The southwest wind at 17 to 23 mph will continue pushing the fire to the northeast. On Wednesday forecasters expect 49 degrees, 11 percent RH, and winds out of the west at 22 gusting to 33 — conditions that could be conducive to additional fire growth.

map decker fire colorado
Map showing the perimeter of the Decker Fire 5 miles south of Salida, Colorado Monday evening, Sept. 30, 2019.

Video describes how fire in Colorado was managed to enhance forest health

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 3 Comments on Video describes how fire in Colorado was managed to enhance forest health
Doe Fire video
Screengrab from the video below.

This video uploaded to YouTube on July 3, 2019 describes how the Doe Canyon Fire in Southwest Colorado was managed to enhance forest health.

It is interesting how the U.S. Forest Service has been recently using the term “good fire”. They probably think it means more to the public than some of the descriptions heard in the past, such as “fire managed for resource benefit”.

The agency is also increasingly using professional quality videos, like the National Park Service has done for years in South Florida, to educate the public about how they manage fire dependent ecosystems.

Fire southwest of Denver causes evacuations

Author Bill GabbertPosted on Categories UncategorizedTags 3 Comments on Fire southwest of Denver causes evacuations
Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire Colorado
Screenshot from the ABC7 video below of the Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire southwest of Denver.

A wildfire that broke out Thursday at 4:30 p.m MDT caused evacuations to be ordered southwest of Denver. It was named “Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire” after the park by the same name. The fire appeared to have ignited about 250 feet south of a fire station for the Inter-Canyon Fire Protection District along Grizzly Drive south of 124. (see map below)

The video below shows the fire burning with a slow rate of spread through heavy brush, but it slowed even more when reaching grassy areas that still had a green component.

The closest structures that were affected by the evacuation are very large homes, most but not all with defensible space. Stacy Martin, Public Information Officer for the fire, said Friday at 9 a.m. that no residents took advantage of the designated evacuation shelters. The evacuation was still in effect Friday at 9 a.m. but she said fire officials hope to rescind the order “soon”.

Overnight the relative humidity rose to over 80 percent which along with a wind shift dampened the spread of the fire.

map Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire Colorado
Map showing the location of the Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire.

Ms. Martin said the fire burned an estimated 20 to 25 acres and is surrounded by a hose lay. The 33-minute Denver 7 video below did not record any aircraft working the fire. A helicopter will be available today that flew in from Montrose, Colorado Thursday night. Approximately 130 firefighters have been assigned.

A spokesperson for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department said the fire was human-caused, but that just means it was not started by lightning or a volcano. He said an explosion was heard around the time it started and juveniles were seen running in the area.

Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire Colorado
Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire. Photo by Jefferson County Sheriff Office.
Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire Colorado
. Photo by Jefferson County Sheriff Office.

Thanks and a tip of the hat go out to Bean. Typos or errors, report them HERE.