Large, long-burning wildfires around the state continue to simmer, with some, such as the Lake Christine fire, being more active than others. Meanwhile, new wildfires sparked up Friday, including the Indian Valley fire northwest of Meeker.
Moisture should increase during the weekend in parts of Colorado, according to the National Weather Service. Scattered showers and thunderstorms are in the forecast and periods of heavy rainfall are possible. Severe storms, with lightning and strong winds, are possible.
Firefighters will welcome moisture, although it can trigger mudslides and flash floods in burn areas. Lightning and strong winds, however, won’t be welcome.
LAKE CHRISTIE FIRE
Rocky Mountain Type 2 Incident Management Team Black assumed command of the fire at 6 a.m. Friday because of increasing fire activity. A Type 2 team has access to a wider variety of resources to aid firefighting efforts.
On Friday, air resources worked along the rim of Basalt Mountain to restrict fire spread to the east, and helicopters were used to control the active fire edge, fire officials said. Structure protection efforts continued in the Cattle Creek drainage. The eastern portion of the fire has increased in activity.
Fire officials updated the community during a public meeting Friday evening at Basalt High School. Residents of Missouri Heights, Cedar Creek, Toner Creek, Seven Castles and Taylor Road are on pre-evacuation status. Closures in the White River National Forest remain in effect.
The human-caused fire started July 3 about a mile northwest of Basalt. It has burned more than 8,300 acres and was 59 percent contained Friday.
SUGARLOAF FIRE
The lightning-caused fire started June 28 in a remote area about 13 miles southwest of Fraser in Arapaho National Forest, just south of Byers Peak Wilderness. The area is rugged and steep, with no roads and no safety zones for firefighters, fire managers said.
The fire is burning through widespread areas of dead lodgepole pine, killed during the past 20 years by pine beetle infestation. The fire continues to smolder with some single-tree torching within the perimeter, fire officials said.
Two fire crews remain camped out near the fire, monitoring and patrolling the fire daily, testing pumps and hoses for structure protection purposes, said Terry Baker, deputy forest supervisor of Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, in a written statement.
The fire, which has burned more than 1,200 acres and is 35-percent contained as of Friday, is not currently threatening any homes or businesses.
INDIAN VALLEY FIRE
A wildfire broke out Friday northwest of Meeker in Rio Blanco County, according to the sheriff’s office.
The fast-moving fire was at about 800 acres Friday evening. The cause of the fire, burning in the Colorow Mountain and Indian Valley area, is under investigation.
The fire is burning through timber, grass and brush. Air resources, including a heavy tanker and helicopters, will aid firefighters in battling the blaze.
RAMPART FIRE
The fire, about 2.5 miles northeast of Woodland Park, was reported at about 4 p.m. Friday and had burned about 12 acres by Friday night. U.S. Forest Service campgrounds in the area were evacuated.
Nearby Woodland Park is on a pre-evacuation order, according to the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office. Residents within a 1.7-mile radius of Rampart Range Road and Forest Service Road 312 should be prepared for a possible evacuation.
Retardant is being applied to the #rampartfire pic.twitter.com/JAAt7Fnlgk
— Cdr. Greg Couch, PIO (@TCSOPIO) July 20, 2018
The fire was burning near Pikes Peak Road and fire fighting equipment, including engines, air tankers and helicopters went to work battling the fire.
Wildfires in Colorado and the U.S.
The map shows active wildfire locations and all 2018 fire perimeters*. The map defaults to Colorado; to see all wildfires, click “U.S.” in the view area. Click the map layers icon in the top right corner of the map to change map backgrounds and to toggle active and contained fires, and perimeters. Click a marker or perimeter for details. To view the full map and a table of all 2018 wildfires, click here.
*Data comes from two sources, GeoMAC and InciWeb, and could contain inconsistencies. Map by Kevin Hamm and Daniel J. Schneider.