Colorado Fires

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PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - Gusty winds hampered firefighters
attacking a 45-acre wildfire Tuesday in southwestern Colorado.
The lightning-sparked fire was burning in the San Juan Mountains
in mixed conifer. No structures were threatened, U.S. Forest
Service spokesman Larry Helmerick said.
A second fire, less than an acre in size, was burning nearby,
according to the Forest Service.
Ten firefighters from the San Juan Hotshot Crew, an engine team
and two helicopters were fighting the fires. An air tanker and
additional firefighters were requested.
The fires were detected in the afternoon during a routine aerial
reconnaissance of the area. Temperatures were in the 80s throughout
the day and winds reached 25 mph as thunderstorms rolled through.
"They're a lot drier down there than we are here," Helmerick
said.
Southwestern Colorado has the greatest risk of wildfire in the
state, the Bureau of Land Management reported last month in an
annual survey.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Pagosa Springs, CO

PAGOSA SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) - More than 100 firefighters battled
a 60-acre wildfire Wednesday in the San Juan Mountains in
southwestern Colorado.
The lightning-sparked fire was expected to be contained Friday,
said U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Pam Wilson.
No structures were threatened, and no injuries were reported.
"The terrain is extremely rugged and difficult," Wilson said.
The fire was detected Tuesday afternoon during a routine aerial
reconnaissance of the area.
Southwestern Colorado has the greatest risk of wildfire in the
state, the Bureau of Land Management reported last month in an
annual survey.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Wildfire burns 80 acres in southwestern Colorado

(Pagosa Springs-AP) -- Higher humidity helped firefighters gain
ground on an 80-acre fire near Pagosa Springs today.
Incident commander Shawna Legarza says the fire -- previously
estimated at 60 acres -- was at least 60 percent contained.
About 170 firefighters were on the scene. Hotshot crews are
expected to arrive tomorrow.
No structures were threatened.
The lightning-sparked fire was burning in rugged terrain in the
San Jaun Mountains of southwest Colorado.

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Trees infested by beetles pose fire threat near Durango

(Durango-AP) -- Tens of thousands of trees that survived last
year's Missionary Ridge wildfire are dying from a beetle
infestation, increasing the risk of wildfires this season.
On the eve of the anniversary of that destructive fire, pinon
and juniper forests south of U-S Highway 160 pose an especially
high threat because they're so close to subdivisions.
Tomorrow marks the one year anniversary of the fire, which
burned 110 square miles.
It was ignited after a spark landed in a ditch next to a gravel
road, quickly spreading in the extremely dry conditions brought on
by the drought.
It claimed the life of an Oregon firefighter who had been
felling burned trees.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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One year ago.......

(Lake George-AP) -- It was a year ago today that the worst
wildfire in Colorado history broke out in Lake George.
The Hayman fire burned 138-thousand acres and lasted 24 days,
fed by trees and vegetation left tinder-dry by years of drought. It
destroyed 151 buildings, including 133 homes, and reached the
southern fringe of metropolitan Denver.
A year later people are cautiously returning to rebuild
retirement nests, vacation cabins and homes.
Meanwhile former U-S Forest Service worker Terry Lynn Barton is
serving up to 12 years in prison for starting the blaze. She said
she set the fire when she threw a burning letter from her estranged
husband into a campfire pit.
She was supposed to be patrolling the area for campfires banned
because of the drought.



(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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July 9th

Major wildfires were burning on about 4,400 acres in Colorado on
Wednesday:

Brush Mountain
Started: Tuesday.
Location: 40 miles north of Grand Junction.
Size: 3,000 acres.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: a half dozen houses threatened.
On Scene: 100 firefighters.
Cause: Unknown.

Campbell Fire
Started: Tuesday.
Location: Near Guffey in Park County.
Size: 100-150 acres.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: 40 residences, 20 outbuildings threatened.
On Scene: 121 firefighters, two heavy air tankers, two
single-engine air tankers.
Cause: Possible lightning strike.

Yankee Gulch Fire
Location: 35 miles southwest of Meeker on federal land.
Size: 1,200 acres.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: No structures threatened.

Unnamed
Location: Northeast of Carbondale.
Size: 50 acres in a hay field.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: Four homes evacuated.


(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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July 10th

Major wildfires were burning on about 7,200 acres in Colorado on
Thursday:

Brush Mountain
Started: Tuesday.
Location: 34 miles north of Grand Junction.
Size: 2,250 acres.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: 10 buildings threatened.
On Scene: 75 firefighters.
Cause: Unknown.

Campbell Fire
Started: Tuesday.
Location: Near Guffey, Park County.
Size: 200 acres.
Containment: 10 percent
Damage: 40 residences, 20 outbuildings threatened.
On Scene: 121 firefighters, two heavy air tankers, two
single-engine air tankers.
Cause: Possible lightning strike.

Yankee Gulch Fire
Location: 35 miles southwest of Meeker on federal land.
Size: 1,500 acres.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: No structures threatened.
On Scene: Officials monitoring fire, allowing it to burn to
clear out dead vegetation
Cause: Lightning strike

Dry Park
Location: Northeast of Carbondale.
Size: 50 acres in a hay field.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: Four homes evacuated.

Bear Creek Fire
Location: North of Durango in the Weminuche Wilderness
Started: July 6
Size: 2,000 acres
Damage: No structures threatened
Cause: Lightning strike
On Scene: Being monitored


(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

[NJFFSA16]

What's happening on the Campbell fire? They've requested single resource DIVS from NJ...and my crew boss is headed out in the morning?
(7/12/03)

Anyone in the Rocky Mountain area know what took place at that incident today? (7/11/03)

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July 13th

DENVER (AP) - Homeowners near Telluride were being allowed back
to their homes Sunday after being evacuated because of a nearby
wildfire.
Meanwhile, a fire was reported near the Crystal Park Reservoir
on Pike's Peak Sunday. El Paso County Sheriff's office spokeswoman
Melissa Hartman said the fire was originally reported by a cog
railroad operator while going up the mountain at about 10:30 a.m.
She said no structures were being threatened by the fire, which
covered less than an acre.
The 120-acre fire near Telluride was 75 percent contained Sunday
morning, and residents evacuated Friday were being allowed back to
their homes.
Only six homes were evacuated, though 65 residences and two
commercial structures were near the blaze four miles southwest of
the ski town.
The National Interagency Fire Center reports a burnout operation
is underway and protection is in place for all the structures.
The Brush Mountain fire near Grand Junction remained Colorado's
largest fire Sunday, covering 4,000 acres at 35 percent
containment.
Lightning last weekend touched off the Bear Creek fire northeast
of Vallecito, which had grown to 1,679 acres Sunday.
Fire management officials decided to treat it as a wildland-use
fire, meaning it's being allowed to burn in a remote area to reduce
heavy fuels.
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-Colo., sharply criticized the
U.S. Forest Service for letting the fire burn, saying the decision
"defies common sense."
The Dotsero Crater Fire just north of Dotsero had burned more
than 1,200 acres and was 20 percent contained Sunday morning.
The Campbell Fire, burning 10 miles south of Guffey, was
threatening eight residences while burning 500 acres at 75 percent
containment.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Progress July 14th

Wildfires being contained despite scorching heat

(Gunnison-AP) -- Despite record temperatures above 100 degrees
today -- firefighters gained the upper hand on several wildfires in
Colorado. But another new blaze forced authorities to shut down 60
miles of a state highway near Gunnison.
Officials say in all -- fires were burning on 97-hundred acres
statewide -- a far smaller territory than the 97-thousand acres
burning on the same date a year earlier.
In Saguache (suh-WATCH') County -- a fire broke out 20 miles
southeast of Gunnison -- and it forced officials to close 60 miles
of state Highway 114.
Crews also planned back burns today on a 45-hundred-acre fire 30
miles north of Grand Junction.
---
On the Net:
Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov


(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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Summary 7/14

Major wildfires were burning on about 9,700 acres in Colorado on
Monday, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center:

Brush Mountain
Started: July 8.
Location: 30 miles north of Grand Junction.
Size: 4,500 acres, up 500 acres from Sunday.
Containment: 35 percent.
Damage: One residence threatened.
On Scene: 337 firefighters, three helicopters, four dozers, 13
engines and five water tenders.
Cost: $913,000.
Cause: Human caused, under investigation.
---
Campbell Fire
Started: July 8.
Location: Near Guffey, Park County.
Size: 505 acres.
Containment: 100 percent.
Damage: Eight residences and 22 outbuildings threatened.
On Scene: 147 firefighters, one single-engine tanker, three
helicopters, seven engines, one dozer and one water tender.
Cost: $486,340.
Cause: Lightning.
---
Yankee Gulch Fire
Started: June 16.
Location: 35 miles southwest of Meeker.
Size: 1,503 acres.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: No structures threatened.
On Scene: Two personnel, officials allowing fire to clear out
dead vegetation.
Cost: $40,000.
Cause: Lightning.
---
Bear Creek Fire
Started: Sunday.
Location: North of Durango in the Weminuche Wilderness.
Size: 1,864 acres, up from 1,363 acres Sunday.
Containment: No estimate.
Damage: No structures threatened.
On Scene: 141 firefighters.
Cost: $375,000.
Cause: Lightning.
---
Alta Fire
Started: Thursday.
Location: Three to four miles south of Telluride.
Size: 122 acres.
Containment: 75 percent.
Damage: Six homes evacuated. Two commercial buildings, 65 homes
and 15 outbuildings threatened.
On Scene: 108 fire personnel, seven engines, four dozers, six
water tankers and a light helicopter.
Cost: No estimate.
Cause: Unknown.
---
Dotsero Crater Fire
Started: Friday.
Location: Two miles north of Dotsero, 20 miles east of Glenwood
Springs.
Size: 1,216 acres.
Containment: 35 percent.
Damage: One outbuilding threatened. A cell phone tower believed
damaged.
On Scene: 92 firefighters, 15 engines, three large tankers and
one helicopter.
Cost: No estimate.
Cause: Believed human caused.


(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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July 15th

GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) - Efforts to contain a 4,823-acre
wildfire burning north of town were delayed Tuesday by a 150-acre
fire that started two miles southwest of the larger blaze.
About 100 firefighters and two helicopters were diverted from
the larger fire to help battle the new fire that threatened a home,
said fire spokesman Bill Rice. The crews were expected to work into
the night.
The larger fire was 45 percent contained, the same figure as a
day before.
"We were right there and we are going to assist the county in a
new start like that," Rice said.
Two single-engine air tankers and one large air tanker, along
with a Hotshot crew and 16 smokejumpers were also battling the
fire.
Meanwhile, a wildfire north of the Colorado line grew to 500
acres and threatened seasonal homes 30 miles southwest of Laramie,
Wyo., said Larry Helmerick, fire information officer for the Rocky
Mountain Area Coordination Center, a federal fire cache in Denver.
In all, fires were burning on about 9,700 acres statewide, about
a tenth of the 97,000 acres burning on the same date last year.
Temperatures in Grand Junction, about 30 miles south of the
fire, were in the low hundreds and there was no relief in sight.
Fire officials used helicopters to ferry water to crews working in
remote, steep, rugged terrain.
In Saguache County, a fire broke out 20 miles southeast of
Gunnison on Monday, forcing officials to close 60 miles of state
Highway 114. By evening, the fire had burned about 12 acres and the
road reopened.
A lightning-caused fire north of Vallecito has grown to at least
1,864 acres, with fire crews letting it burn to eliminate dead
vegetation.
A 1,232-acre fire north of Interstate 70 near the east end of
Glenwood Canyon was 71 percent contained. And crews were mopping up
a 505-acre fire near Guffey, east of Colorado Springs.
---
On the Net:
Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov

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July 16th

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK, Colo. (AP) - Lightning-sparked fires
shut down the nation's largest archaeological preserve, but
authorities said Wednesday none of the park's ancient ruins were
threatened.
Two fires inside Mesa Verde National Park and one just outside
the park were contained Wednesday afternoon. Two other fires have
merged on the park boundary and were not contained by Wednesday
afternoon.
"The good news is at 3 p.m. we are saying there are no
significant cultural or infrastructure (features) threatened,"
said Larry Helmerick of the federal Rocky Mountain Area
Coordination Center.
Helmerick said the fires burned a total of about 1,000 acres.
The fires started Tuesday near Balcony House, one of the premier
ruins in the park in Colorado's southwestern corner. The park was
evacuated and tourists poured into nearby Cortez and Durango,
forcing motels to turn people away.
The park is home to 25,000 archaeological sites left by the
Ancestral Pueblo Indians, a civilization that vanished more than
700 years ago. Its cliff dwellings date to the 1200s and pit houses
date to the 500s.
In 2000, two wildfires burned more than a third of the park's
52,000 acres. A fire last year burned more than 2,600 in the park.
Flames could cause significant damage to rock paintings by
heating water within the limestone, causing the walls to crumble,
said Mark Varien, research director for the Crow Canyon
Archaeological Center in Cortez.
Fire could also damage structures built of wood and mud inside
the cliff dwellings.
"It would not only compromise the structural integrity of those
buildings, but the wood is really valuable," Varien said. "That's
how we date those buildings."
Fire could also destroy protective vegetation, exposing the
sites to erosion.
On Tuesday, assistant park superintendent Betty Janes said all
visitors and the park's 30 to 50 residential employees had been
ordered out. Among them was Jane Murphy, a high school English
teacher from Cranston, R.I., who was on a tour of Balcony House
when a lightning-packed thunderstorm arrived.
"There was this big boom of thunder and somebody said it hit,"
Murphy said Wednesday by telephone from a Cortez motel. "I was
probably two seconds late to see the lighting hit the tree or
whatever it was, but immediately the flame shot up.
"It started as one thin orange column and then it got wider and
wider, and smokier and smokier."
Ten miles from the park entrance Wednesday, front desk worker
Denise Kibel said she was turning people away from the Best Western
Turquoise Inn & Suites in Cortez. She could see the smoke from the
fires.
In all, fires were burning on about 9,950 acres in Colorado,
about a tenth of the 97,000 acres burning at this time last year.
The largest fire, a 4,823-acre blaze 30 miles north of Grand
Junction, remained 45 percent contained. Firefighting efforts were
delayed Tuesday by a separate 200-acre fire that started nearby.
A small fire was burning four miles south of Estes Park near
Rocky Mountain National Park. Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest
officials said lightning was the suspected cause but had no size
estimate.
The Mount Vernon Country Club in Golden was evacuated as a
precaution Wednesday afternoon after a wildfire charred three to
four acres on nearby Lookout Mountain.
A wildfire north of the Colorado line grew to 500 acres and
threatened seasonal homes 30 miles southwest of Laramie, Wyo.
---
On the Net:
Mesa Verde: http://www.nps.gov/meve
Forest Service: http://www.fs.fed.us/r2
National Interagency Fire Center: http://www.nifc.gov

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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7/20

DENVER (AP) - Park officials planned to open Mesa Verde National
Park Monday morning for the first time since six days, even as
firefighters continue battling a 2,600 acre wildfire.
All the park's archaeological features will be open for tours,
including Balcony House ruins near the spot where the fire started,
park spokeswoman Kathy Crepinsek said Sunday.
A campground, shops and gas station at Morefield Village, about
four miles inside the park's main entrance, will remain closed
indefinitely because firefighting operations are based there,
Crepinsek said.
Morefield has the only gas station inside the park.
The 52,000-acre park, which protects centuries-old cliff
dwellings built by Ancestral Pueblo Indians, has been closed since
lightning started the fire on Tuesday afternoon. None of the park's
archaeological treasures was threatened.
The fire was just 10 percent contained Sunday afternoon.
Mesa Verde is the main tourist draw for nearby Cortez, and
tourism-related companies do the vast majority of their business in
the summer.
The Bolt fire, nine miles southwest of Pagosa Springs, grew by
about 400 acres overnight to a total of 1,500 acres. The fire
remained just 25 percent contained on Sunday.
A number of other fires continued burning Sunday, including the
Devil Creek fire in the San Juan National Forest. The 230-acre fire
threatened five residences, but was 80 percent contained.
Lightning started a wildfire on Sunday 10 miles southwest of
Norwood in southwestern Colorado, and it grew to 300 acres by
nightfall. Wildfires were burning on more than 14,600 acres in the
state, but three of those fires, totaling 5,800 acres, were fully
contained.
Clear Creek County just west of Denver banned all outdoor fires
starting Sunday, except in designated national forest fire rings or
propane, natural gas or liquid fuel grills.
On Saturday a memorial was unveiled to three pilots killed last
summer at the Big Elk Meadows fire near Lyons.
The pilots, Milt Stollak, Rich Schwartz, and Gordon Knight, are
credited with helping save the Big Elk Meadows subdivision of 160
homes.
---
On the Net:
National Interagency Fire Center:
http://www.nifc.gov/fireinfo/nfn.html

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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7/20 summary

Uncontained wildfires were burning on more than 8,800 acres in
Colorado on Sunday, including two fires totaling 3,300 acres
allowed to burn for resource benefits. Three other fires were 100
percent contained after burning a total of more than 5,800 acres,
according to the federal Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center in
Denver. Some of the major blazes:

Uncontained Fires

Balcony House Complex
Started: July 15, 16.
Location: Southeastern section of Mesa Verde National Park.
Size: 2,600 acres.
Containment: 10 percent.
Damage: No structures threatened.
On Scene: 445 fire personnel, six helicopters, 10 engines and
nine water tenders.
Cost: $835,000.
Cause: Lightning.
---
Bolt
Started: Tuesday.
Location: Nine miles southwest of Pagosa Springs on Southern Ute
land.
Size: 1,533 acres.
Containment: 25 percent.
Damage: Twenty-four primary residences, 20 outbuildings,
cultural sites and forage areas potentially threatened.
On Scene: 201 fire personnel, nine engines, five dozers, two
helicopter and four water tenders.
Cost: $465,000.
Cause: Lightning.
---
JB
Started: July 17.
Location: Near Gateway, approximately 42 miles southwest of
Grand Junction and about two miles from the Utah border.
Size: 850 acres.
Containment: 25 percent.
Damage: five residences, four outbuildings potentially
threatened.
On Scene: 179 personnel, two helicopters, four engine and a
water tender.
Cost: $134,000.
Cause: Unknown.
---
Hamilton
Started: July 20.
Location: 10 miles southwest of Norwood.
Size: 300 acres.
Containment: 0 percent.
Damage: Three residences, 10 outbuildings, ranch headquarters,
state wildlife area potentially threatened. One road closed.
On scene: 32 personnel, three engines, five dozers, two water
tenders.
Cost: Unknown.
Cause: Lightning.
---
Devil Creek
Started: July 15.
Location: San Juan National Forest about 16 miles west of Pagosa
Springs.
Size: 230 acres.
Containment: 80 percent.
Damage: Five residence threatened.
On Scene: 77 personnel. One helicopter, two engines and a dozer.
Cost: $106,000.
Cause: Lightning.

Fires allowed to burn

Bear Creek
Started: July 6.
Location: North of Durango in the Weminuche Wilderness.
Size: 1,869 acres.
Containment: Officials managing fire for resource benefit.
Damage: No structures threatened.
On Scene: 68 fire personnel, one helicopter, two engines and a
water tender.
Cost: $1.37 million.
Cause: Lightning.
---
Yankee Gulch
Started: June 16.
Location: 35 miles southwest of Meeker.
Size: 1,503 acres.
Containment: Officials managing fire for resource benefit.
Damage: No structures threatened.
On Scene: One personnel.
Cost: $40,000.
Cause: Lightning.

Contained Fires

Brush Mountain
Started: July 8.
Location: 30 miles north of Grand Junction.
Size: 5,292 acres.
Containment: 100 percent.
Damage: None.
On Scene: 165 personnel, a helicopter, a dozer, four engines and
a water tender.
Cost: $2.1 million.
Cause: Human caused, under investigation.
---
Horn Canyon
Started: July 17.
Location: 15 miles southwest of Durango.
Size: 300 acres.
Containment: 100 percent contained.
Damage: None.
On Scene: 83 fire personnel on scene.
Cost: No estimate.
Cause: Lightning.
---
Morgan Bottom
Started: July 18.
Location: About 20 miles north of Meeker.
Size: 211 aces (estimate reduced from 350 acres after mapping).
Containment: 100 percent.
Damage: None.
On scene: 13 fire personnel. Four engines and a water tanker.
Cost: No estimate.
Cause: Lightning.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

APTV 07-20-03 2323EDT