West
Fork Complex Fire Update
Rocky Mountain Incident
Management Team- Pete Blume, Incident Commander
Phoenix National Incident
Management Organization- Dan Klineman, Incident Commander
Joint Information Center:
719-569-4149 or 719-657-3279
Hours of operation: 8:00 am –
9:00 pm
West Zone Email: westforkfire@gmail.com
East Zone Email: WestForkFire.EastZone@gmail.com
July 3, 2013
9:00 am
Current Situation:
East Zone of the West
Fork Complex (Includes Papoose and Eastern Part of West Fork Fires)
The strategies for operations on the fire include continuing protection
for structures and high value resources, as well as confining the fire to areas
where it will not pose an issue for the local area during the remainder of the
summer.
Papoose Fire: Falling trees in some areas of the fire are creating
an unsafe situation and firefighters are avoiding those areas. Fire intensity is expected to increase in the
next few days, especially in areas where spruce trees have been damaged by
beetles. In areas where structure
protection has been completed, firefighters will test pumps and sprinklers
systems to ensure they are still operational in the event the systems will need
to be utilized. Firefighters will
continue to confine the northern part of the fire, from the Rio Grande Reservoir
around the most northern point, and then south along Highway 149. Some burn out will take place along meadows, allowing
firefighters the opportunity to even out the fire line and achieve confinement.
Eastern Part of West Fork
Fire: During
structure protection of homes in and around the fire, limbs, branches, and
other vegetation was removed from around homes, propane tanks and other
structures. Firefighters will begin to
chip this material so that it is not creating a fire hazard. Also, pumps and sprinkler systems will be
tested to ensure they are still operational.
In addition, firefighters have built two miles of fireline from Humphreys
Lake, moving north towards the Elk Mountain area. Today, fireline construction will continue
through the Elk Mountain area. The fire
will also be monitored along Highway 160.
West Zone of West Fork
Complex (Includes Western Part of West Fork and Windy Pass Fires)
Minimal fire growth occurred on the fire last night. The West Fork Wildfire grew by seven acres
yesterday. Firefighters will patrol and
monitor the fire and are poised to respond to any new fire starts that may have
occurred during the past few days.
A transfer of command will take place from an Incident Management
Organization (Kleinman) to a Type 2 Incident Management Team, (Nunez) at 6:00
a.m. tomorrow morning.
West Zone West Fork Fire: The West Zone
of the West Fork fire is
the portion of the fire burning south of the continental divide. Structure
protection is still in place for the Wolf Creek Ski Area, Borns Lake Cabins,
and Bruce Spruce Resort. The West Fork
Campground is open. Crews completed backhauling excess firefighting equipment
at Borns Lake, Bruce Spruce and Wolf Creek.
Windy Pass Fire: The fire grew one acre yesterday, creeping on the western flank
of the fire where heat remains.
Firefighters continue to patrol and monitor the fire area.
Weather: Gusty winds and lightning from
thunderstorms will be the main weather concern for today. A gradual change toward conditions favoring
better chances for wetting rains will occur into the coming weekend.
Public
Health and Safety: Smoke
monitors are in place in Pagosa Springs, Freemon’s Ranch, and Creede, with one
monitor yet to be installed at South Fork (on its way). The monitors are identified as #78 (Creede),
#69 (Freemon’s Ranch) and #65 (Pagosa Springs) and can be accessed through the
map located at: http://www.wrcc.dri.edu/cgi-bin/smoke.pl.
Times displayed are in GMT – subtract 6 hours to get local time (MDT). For the official Colorado Smoke Outlook, please
visit http://www.colorado.gov/airquality/colo_advisory.aspx
and http://www.colorado.gov/airquality/wildfire.aspx
for further health advisory information.
Please use caution when traveling along Highways 149
and 160. Heavy fire traffic can be
expected along the highways and within the communities of South Fork, Creede,
and Del Norte. Reduced speed is posted
on Highway 160. Please do not stop along
the roads to take pictures of the fire or firefighters as doing so could impede
fire operations.
Evacuations and Closures: Some communities still remain under
evacuation, others on pre-evacuation notice.
Residents are reminded to remain vigilant and be prepared to evacuate at
a moment’s notice in the event that fire activity changes. Visit http://westforkfirecomplex.blogspot.com/
for a list of areas currently under evacuation or pre-evacuation. The list will be updated as conditions
change.
For additional information on
road and trail closures affecting the San Juan National Forest go to: http://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/sanjuan/alerts-notices.
For additional information on
road and trail closures affecting the Rio Grande National Forest go to: http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/riogrande/notices/?cid=STELPRDB5143145.
Fire Information Meetings: None scheduled at this
time.
Media Briefings: There are no scheduled media briefings. If media are interested in a briefing or
interview, please contact the East Zone Information Office at (719) 657-3279 or
West Zone Information office at (970) 731-2432.
Fire Statistics:
Location: 14.5 miles north/northeast of Pagosa Springs, CO Start
Date: 06/05/2013
Complex Size: 97,823 acres Percent Contained: 7%
Windy
Pass: 1,417 acres Cause: Lightning
Papoose: 36,511 acres Total Personnel: 1,369
West Fork: 59,895 acres
Resources Include: 7 Type 1 hand crews, 17 Type 2 hand crews, 73 engines, 4 dozers, 12 water
tenders, and overhead personnel
Air Resources: 4 Type 1 helicopters,
2 Type 2 helicopters, and 4 Type 3 helicopters.
Places
to get information:
Twitter:
@rmt1pio
Information Boards: Information is posted at the Pagosa
Springs Visitor Information Center, Freemon's Ranch near Creede, the Forest
Service office in Creede, and at the Del Norte High School.
###
No comments:
Post a Comment