Colorado: Royal Gorge Fire

(UPDATE at 9:35 a.m. MT, June 14, 2013)

All evacuations were lifted and Highway 50 reopened last night at 8 p.m. Cooler temperatures, along with higher relative humidity and light winds kept fire activity on Thursday to a minimum. The fire listed at 3,162 acres and 40 percent containment.

Predicted weather for the next several days calls for continued cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity. On Friday, fire crews will continue to construct, secure and mop up containment lines around the fire’ perimeter.

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(UPDATE at 5:58 p.m. MT, June 13, 2013)

Map of Royal Gorge Fire
Map of Royal Gorge Fire, 2:34 a.m. 6-13-2013

Below is an update from the Royal Gorge Fire’s  Incident Management Team:

Yesterday the fire was active along the western flank. Fire managers felt that good progress was made along the eastern flank, and as a result the fire is now estimated to be 20 percent contained. Areas of the fire are burning in fuels that are 20 to 30 percent beetle-killed trees.

“Our goal is to strengthen our containment lines and to keep this fire south of Highway 50,” said Dan Dallas, Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team 2 Incident Commander.

Fire fighters will continue constructing line along the fire’s perimeter, and continue structure protection south of U.S. HWY 50. Approximately 136 people are on the fire with more resources scheduled to arrive throughout the day.

Below are some notes from a 4 p.m. briefing today about the privately-owned park at the Gorge:

  • It began with a prayer.
  • “The national treasure, the bridge, is intact, we drove across it today”.
  • 48 of 52 park structures were destroyed in the fire.
  • All of the seasonal jobs are suspended.
  • They will rebuild in a year, and hope to be open on a limited basis in months

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(UPDATE at 8:50 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

During a press briefing that just concluded, the following information was given:

  • Fire behavior throughout the day was active with visible torching, spotting and running in heavy fuels.
  • The infrared mapping flight requested for last night did not occur, but the estimated size of the fire is 3,000 acres, with 20 percent containment.
  • 20 structures burned in the fire. A number of buildings related to tourist activities, the bridge, and the gorge were destroyed. No homes have burned.
  • The bridge over the Gorge is intact, but 33 planks were damaged.
  • Firefighters are concerned about a Red Flag Warning in the weather forecast for Thursday, which predicts gusty winds, low humidity, and dry fuels. With that, the fire behavior Thursday may be similar to the rapid fire spread observed Tuesday.
  • Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Management Team B, with Incident Commander Dan Dallas,  has arrived, been briefed, and will assume command of the fire at 6 a.m. Thursday.
  • Over 200 personnel are assigned to the fire.
  • Most of the firefighters coming off the fireline tonight, according to the Information Officer on the Type 3 IMTeam, have been working since the fire was reported on Tuesday and have not slept since then.

A larger version of the map below can be found HERE.

Map of Royal Gorge Fire, 6-12-2013
Map of Royal Gorge Fire, 6-12-2013

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(UPDATE at 4:27 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

KKTV, the Colorado Springs station that is providing excellent live stream coverage of the fires, just reported that the Royal Gorge Fire has burned 20 structures and 3,000 acres, and it is 20 percent contained.

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(UPDATE at 2:12 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

As we reported yesterday, the two Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems (MAFFS) C-130 air tankers at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs have been activated for this surge in wildfire occurrence and were seen in the air near the Black Forest Fire an hour or two ago. More information about the MAFFS activation and how they were used in Colorado in 2012 is at Fire Aviation.

Below is a map of the Royal Gorge Fire provided by the National Weather Service, which credits the National Interagency Fire Center for the data.

Map of Royal Gorge Fire, 6-12-2013
Map of Royal Gorge Fire, 6-12-2013 NWS-NIFC

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(Originally published at 8:41 a.m. MT, June 12, 2013; updated at 11:18 a.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

Strong winds pushed the Royal Gorge Fire through an estimated 3,800 acres near Canon City, southwest of Colorado Springs Tuesday. The fire started south of the Arkansas River and spotted across, burning on BLM, state, and private lands requiring mandatory evacuations in the area. Denver’s ABC7 has created a map showing the evacuation zone for the Royal Gorge Fire.

Continue reading “Colorado: Royal Gorge Fire”

Black Forest Fire, Colorado Springs

(UPDATE at 9:25 a.m. MT, June 18, 2013)

The video below was shot by KKTV chief photojournalist Mike Petkash. It was posted Tuesday morning, June 18.

An update from the El Paso County Sheriff’s office lists 502 primary residences that were destroyed in the Black Forest Fire and another 18 with partial damage.

American Red Cross Disaster Assistance Teams are doing assessments within the fire perimeter. Utility crews continue assessing and securing service to residences for future re-entry. Excess resources are being released as incident objectives are being met. Firefighters continue to mop up and secure around structures to prevent further loss.

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(UPDATE at 11:47 a.m. MT, June 17, 2013)

A tweet from KKTV in Colorado Springs:


That is the first time I have heard of this happening — survivors from a massive, very destructive wildfire less than a year before hold a picnic for survivors of another even more destructive wildfire that occurred just a few miles away.

Thunderstorms on Sunday brought 0.11 inches of precipitation to the Black Forest Fire area, which aided firefighters in their mop up efforts. The storm also produced lightning that ignited three new fires in the burn area which were quickly suppressed by firefighters, according to Incident Commander Rich Harvey.

The size of the fire has been more accurately determined to be 14,280 acres; on Saturday it had been listed at 15,500 acres. The cost of fire suppression is estimated at $5.5 million and 4,100 people are still under mandatory evacuation orders. The Denver Post has a map showing evacuation areas and the locations of structures that have burned.

Firefighters are placing flagging at residences, and writing on it the the date, time, and the name of the crew that checked and mopped up the area.

Incident Commander Rich Harvey told CNN on Sunday, June 16:

The perimeter work is done, now we’re focused on coming interior and making sure that all the heat that could eventually create sparks that could get over our line are done — we call it mop up.

At an 11:15 a.m. MT briefing on Monday, IC Harvey said the fire is 75 percent contained. (More information about “containment”.)

A Monday morning news release from the IMTeam detailed some of their plans for the day:

A continuing threat exists to structures within the fire perimeter due to the potential for extreme fire behavior from gusty winds from developing thunderstorms. The potential for re-burn from remaining hot spots within the ground fuels remains a concern. Firefighters will continue to grid the fire area for hotspots, especially around structures.

A media tour scheduled for Monday morning during which members of the press were going to be transported around the fire in a bus was postponed and no new date was established.
Continue reading “Black Forest Fire, Colorado Springs”

Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park

(UPDATE at 10:15 a.m. PT, June 16, 2013)

Big Meadow Fire
Firefighters conducted a burnout adjacent to an avalanche chute Friday, June 14, on the Big Meadows Fire. NPS photo

The Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park has grown to either 496 or 603 acres; both numbers are listed on the fire’s main InciWeb page. Some of the acreage is a result of burn outs conducted by firefighters to take advantage of natural barriers such as an avalanche chute. The Incident Commander lists the fire at  60 percent contained. Uploaded maps can be found on InciWeb.

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(UPDATE at 9:40 a.m. MT, June 14, 2013)

Fire activity Thursday was largely limited to an area on the eastern flank of the fire on south facing slopes. Hand crews constructed and strengthened fire lines along the northwest flank of the fire. Crews working along Tonahutu Creek continued efforts to install hose lays to strengthen containment along the southern flank of the fire.

Today firefighting resources will include an initial attack module of seven fire-fighters, two 20-person Type 1 hotshot crews, two 20-person Type 2 hand crews, and five fire engines.

After an infrared mapping flight, the size of the fire was determined to be 333 acres, a reduction due to more accurate information. The fire is listed at 30 percent containment.

Big Meadow Fire June 11, 2013
Big Meadows Fire June 11, 2013

(UPDATE at 6 p.m. MT, June 13, 2013)

Map of Big Meadow Fire
Map of Big Meadows Fire, 3:28 a.m. MT, 6-13-2013

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(UPDATE at 8:46 a.m. MT, June 13, 2013)

A shortage of wildland firefighters is impacting the suppression of the Big Meadows fire. Fire managers said there are not enough Type 1 hand crews available for them to obtain the resources they need. The 19 percent reduction in the number of federal wildland firefighters over the last two years may have contributed to this situation that makes it more difficult to put out fires.

Below is an excerpt from an update issued by fire managers:

There are 107 firefighters currently on the Big Meadows Fire plus the Type 2 team who will be taking over command of the fire from the Boise Smokejumper Type 3 team tomorrow. Air resources include one Type 1 helicopter, one Type 2 helicopter and two Type 3 helicopters. Many firefighters will be camping out near the fire tonight to get an early morning start to continue with fire suppression tactics.

A challenge continues to be filling additional Type 1 crews. Due to other fires in Colorado, as well as in other states that are impacting communities and homes, resources are being spread across the nation.

The fire managers are calling the fire 600 acres with zero containment.

The area is under a Red Flag Warning until 9 p.m. today for 10-20 mph winds gusting up to 30 mph, relative humidity as low as 14 percent, and thunderstorms with little if any rain, possibly producing more fires.

The Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Management Team A was scheduled to assume command of the fire at 6 a.m. today. Their Incident Command Post is the Granby High School.

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(UPDATE at 6:12 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

The Rocky Mountain Geographic Area reports the Big Meadow Fire has now burned 600 acres. It is making upslope runs and is spotting out ahead of the main fire.

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(UPDATE at 2:52 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

Map of Big Meadow Fire, 1:43 p.m. MT,  6-12-2013
Map of Big Meadows Fire, 1:43 p.m. MT, 6-12-2013 (click to enlarge)

The above map contains new data on the location of the Big Meadow Fire. It shows the approximate location of heat detected by a satellite which was collected at 1:43 p.m. MT today. The locations of the squares can be as much as a mile in error. The data indicates that the fire moved a bit toward the southeast.

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(UPDATE at 2:14 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

As we reported yesterday, the two Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems (MAFFS) C-130 air tankers at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs have been activated for this surge in wildfire occurrence and were seen in the air near the Black Forest Fire an hour or two ago. More information about the MAFFS activation and how they were used in Colorado in 2012 is at Fire Aviation.

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(Originally published at 7:52 a.m. MT, June 12, 2013; updated at 12:13 p.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

The Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park started from a lightning strike on Monday. Tuesday it grew from two acres to 400 by the end of the day. Wednesday around noon the Park updated the number of acres burned to 500.

The fire is about 4 miles from the Green Mountain Trailhead in a relatively remote section of Rocky Mountain National Park west of the Continental Divide. Around 1:00 p.m. Tuesday firefighters experienced extremely gusty winds that both deterred deploying smokejumpers and increased the fire’s growth. No structures or communities are threatened.

Map of Big Meadow Fire, 2:40 p.m. MT, June 11, 2013
Map of Big Meadows Fire, 2:40 p.m. MT, June 11, 2013

The map of the Big Meadows Fire above shows the fire to be west of the Continental Divide and 13 miles from Estes Park. The Park posted a zoomed-in topographic map of the fire perimeter Wednesday morning.

The fire is burning in heavy timber and moving to the northeast toward Nakai Peak. No structures or communities are threatened.

A Boise Smokejumper Type 3 Incident Management Team has taken over management of the fire, with Incident Commander Matt Bowers. The Park apparently likes having smokejumpers from Boise manage their fires, as evidenced by this fire and the Fern Lake fire of 2012.

The Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Management Team A has been dispatched and is expected to inbrief Wednesday morning and transition Thursday morning.

Fire managers have ordered additional air and ground resources including three additional helicopters and five additional Type 1 crews. The weather forecast is for more warm, dry and windy conditions Wednesday and the fire is expected to be active.

The Park’s Tuesday morning press release said the National Park Service reluctantly decided to suppress the fire, rather than let it burn, citing extended drought conditions and reduced interagency resources, which influenced the decision, they said. Then a few hours later, it was off to the races — and it could be a long race unless there is a major change in the weather very soon.

The map below shows the location of the three large fires burning in Colorado.
Continue reading “Big Meadows Fire in Rocky Mountain National Park”

Maps of Colorado wildfires, June 11, 2013

(Originally posted at 5:18 p.m. MT, June 11, 2013; revised at 8:20 a.m. MT, June 12, 2013)

There are at least three major fires burning in Colorado.

This first map shows the general locations of three fires: Big Meadow in Rocky Mountain National Park, Black Forest near Colorado Springs, and Royal Gorge at Canon City southwest of Colorado Springs. The red squares represent the approximate location of heat detected by a satellite at 2:40 p.m. June 11, 2013.
Continue reading “Maps of Colorado wildfires, June 11, 2013”

Three new fires in Colorado

(Originally published at 3:02 p.m. MT, June 11, 2013; updated at 8:47 a.m. MT, June 12)

Several new fires are being pushed by very strong winds and are influenced by record high temperatures and very low humidities, on a day when the south two-thirds of the state is under a Red Flag Warning and Denver set a record for the highest temperature ever recorded for the date, 99 degrees, which is 4 degrees higher than the previous record.

Royal Gorge Fire

We have transitioned new information about the Royal Gorge Fire, including maps, to its own location on Wildfire Today, where all additional developments about the fire can be found.

The first one is from the fire at the Royal Gorge near Canon City (map), southwest of Colorado Springs. HERE is a link to a web cam view of the area. More photos are at KVDR.

KKTV reports that at least three structures have burned as well as 3,800 acres.

The Canon City Daily Record reports a prison, the Colorado Territorial Facility, is evacuating 881 inmates to the vacant CSP II facility because of the Royal Gorge Fire.

Denver’s ABC7 has created a map showing the evacuation zone for the Royal Gorge Fire.

The two Single Engine Air Tankers (SEATs) at Grand Junction have been requested for the fire, but they can’t take off in the 30+ mph winds there. Strong winds at the fire would make the retardant ineffective and the conditions could possibly be unsafe for the pilots.

Royal Gorge Fire 6-11-2013
Royal Gorge Fire 6-11-2013 Photo by @AzchiiiaBisssh

Below is a map showing heat detected by a satellite on the Royal Gorge Fire at 2:40 p.m. MT, June 11, 2013. These satellite maps can have the locations off by a mile or two, but this data shows that the fire is approximately two to three miles long.

Map of Royal Gorge Fire, 2:40 p.m., 6-11-2013
Map showing heat detected by a satellite on the Royal Gorge Fire, 2:40 p.m. MT, 6-11-2013

Black Forest Fire

We have transitioned new information about the Black Forest Fire, including maps, to its own location on Wildfire Today, where all additional developments about the fire can be found.

A large fire is burning in the Black Forest area of Colorado Springs (map).  9NEWS (KUSA) in Denver is occasionally streaming live video of the fire. And this CBS site sometimes has a live video stream of the fires.

Multiple homes were seen burning on the coverage from 9NEWS.

In a briefing at 10 p.m. Tuesday, Terry Maketa, the El Paso County Sheriff, said the fire has burned 7,500 to 8,000 acres, a Type 1 Incident Management Team has been ordered, and 40 to 60 “primary structures” have burned. About 5,400 residents have been evacuated from 1,900 homes.

The Sheriff said the fire crossed Meridan Road and moved into what had been designated a pre-evacuation area. (See the evacuation map here.)

He said the Governor has activated the two Modular Airborne FireFighting Systems (MAFFS) air tankers at Peterson Air Force Base and they should be available by mid-morning Wednesday. Those aircraft are operated by the 302nd Airlift Wing of the Air Force Reserve, rather than the state national guard like the other three units that have MAFFS, so it would be unusual for a governor to have the authority to activate them without going through the National Interagency Fire Center.

The Sheriff also reported the following resources were working on the fire Tuesday: 16 water tenders, 36 engines, 4 dozers,and 1 Type 1 air tanker.

Military helicopters, two UH60s and two CH47s, from Ft. Carson and the Colorado Army National Guard have mobilized and are joining the fire fight.

Ordering the Type 1 Incident Management Team is a significant change from a year ago, when the City of Colorado Springs was very hesitant to accept any help or support from the Type 1 IMTeam that was suppressing the Waldo Canyon Fire which blackened 18,247 acres and destroyed 346 homes in the city.

The photos below were taken by Jake Weien looking east from from North Gate & Hwy 83 (map).

Black Forest Fire 6-11-2013
Black Forest Fire 6-11-2013 Photo by Jake Weien, j8xman
Black Forest Fire
Black Forest Fire. Screen grab from KUSA, 4:48 p.m. MT, June 11, 2013

Big Meadow Fire

We have transitioned new information about the Big Meadow fire, including maps, to its own location on Wildfire Today, where all additional developments about the fire can be found.

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The Big Meadow Fire is burning on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park and on Monday and early Tuesday gusty winds prevented the deployment of smokejumpers. Tuesday morning the lightning-caused fire had only burned two to three acres, but the Park reported at about 2:50 p.m. Tuesday that there was increased smoke coming from the fire:

Significant smoke, rapidly increasing in size is being seen from the Big Meadows Fire.

The Park’s Tuesday morning press release said the National Park Service reluctantly decided to suppress the fire, rather than let it burn, citing extended drought conditions and reduced interagency resources, which influenced the decision, they said. Then a few hours later, it was off to the races — and it could be a long race unless there is a major change in the weather very soon.

Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Management Team A has been dispatched to the Big Meadow Fire. Their inbriefing is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday.

The photo below of the Big Meadow Fire was taken Monday, June 10.

Big Meadow Fire 6-10-2013
Big Meadow Fire 6-10-2013 NPS photo

This next photo of the Big Meadow Fire was taken Tuesday afternoon by Park Ranger “JP” from Trail Ridge Road. The fire obviously grew larger than two to three acres.

Big Meadow Fire 6-11-2013 NPS photo
Big Meadow Fire 6-11-2013 NPS photo (click to enlarge)

And one more photo of the Big Meadow Fire:

Big Meadow Fire June 11, 2013
Big Meadow Fire June 11, 2013

 

Wildfire mitigation: saw and slaw

On National Public Radio’s Talk of the Nation program this week the host, Ari Shapiro, interviewed Grist staff writer Susie Cagle about living in wildfire country, and took calls from listeners. Reading the transcript or listening to the recording is interesting. The “saw and slaw” described below could be a model that would work in other communities.

Below is a excerpt. We’re taking a call from Dave who lives in Colorado between Boulder and Golden.

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(DAVE IS SPEAKING:) …”So we decided in our canyon here to do something about it as far as fire mitigation, and we started a program called saws and slaws.

(LAUGHTER)

SHAPIRO: What does that involve?

DAVE: And we have – we get together as a community and we work in the morning. And then everybody brings a potluck…

SHAPIRO: So you saw down the trees and then you eat coleslaw?

DAVE: Exactly. That’s the idea. Everybody brings a potluck lunch and we just have a great time. But we have – we offer chainsaw safety training classes. And this is our third season. And we’ve done I don’t know how many acres total, but it’s made a significant difference in our canyon and just helped to build community also (unintelligible).

SHAPIRO: Are you specifically trying to get rid of the invasive trees, or are you just clear-cutting whatever you can so there’s not much more to burn?

DAVE: Well, we have a forester that comes out to the property, and usually there’s a few households that get together, a few property owners. And then we have a forester come out and mark the trees. We do have pine beetle effects here…”

 

 

Thanks go out to Dick