The Cameron Peak fire, fueled by steep slopes, hot weather and rugged terrain, more than doubled in size from Saturday to Sunday, and Larimer County officials declared an emergency to access more resources to help battle the fire.
The official Sunday report was that the fire had burned 12,124 acres in “exceptionally dry” conditions, rugged terrain and “super steep slopes,” growing from the 5,424 acres reported Saturday. In addition to the terrain and hot, dry weather, crews also are up against a lack of fire resources to fight the fire.
“They have a limited amount of resources available for us right now,” Paul Hohn, operations section chief with the Rocky Mountain Incident Team, said in an online briefing Sunday, “because of the extreme fires we’re seeing all over Colorado and much of the west.”
Larimer County Commissioner Steve Johnson, chair of the county board, made a formal disaster declaration on Sunday — a decision that will be considered for ratification by the full board Tuesday.
“By declaring a disaster, Larimer County can activate our local Emergency Operations Plan to respond proactively to this emerging event,” Lori Hodges, Larimer County’s director of emergency management said in a press release. “It also allows us to access state and federal resources as needed during this event.”
The fire was first reported Thursday near Chambers Lake, about 40 miles west of Fort Collins, and according to fire officials has been spreading quickly. Saturday it jumped Colo. 14 and is now burning on both sides of the Poudre Canyon Highway, which is closed from Rustic to Gould.
With crews on the ground and air support, the team was working to protect structures and prevent the spread of the blaze. However, they were having a difficult time attacking the edges of the fire because of the terrain and its aggressive behavior, and by Sunday it remained at zero containment.
“This fire has had very extreme fire behavior,” Paul Hohn, operations section chief, said in an online briefing Sunday. “It’s been driven by the drought that exists in the North Front Range and Front Range of Colorado. We’ve got a super thick, thick fuel bed up there.”
Hohn said in the briefing Sunday that his crews were focusing on areas to the north and northeast, looking for areas with roads, rocks and vegetation other than dense conifer stands where they would “much more likely have success” in stopping the spread.
In a later briefing, Beau Kidd, another operations section chief, explained that is the strategy in place to prevent the fire from burning neighborhoods in Crystal Lakes and Red Feather Lakes, which are still several miles away.
Also affecting the fire is the weather. Meteorologist Darren Clabo, with the incident team said that while temperatures will remain hot, likely in the 80s, easterly winds brought more humidity on Sunday. Conditions are still incredibly dry, but relative humidity could reach 20%, he said.
However, the forecast for the next few weeks does not include widespread rains that could help stop the fire. It does include thunderstorms without much moisture and the possibility of lightning strikes, he warned.
While there are evacuations in place, no structures have been reported lost to the flames. Hohn said Chambers Lake and Aspen Grove campgrounds have survived the fire.
Because of the weather and the fires burning, the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests on Saturday stepped up their fire restrictions. Now, all open fires are prohibited, even in permanent fire rings or grates, though campers can use propane stoves in campgrounds that remain open.
A wide area on national forest land surrounding the fire has been closed to keep people safe and to give firefighters room to work. Residents are asked to check closures before heading to the mountains.
Information on the fire is available from several sources:
- Online at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6964, facebook.com/CameronPeakFire or twitter.com/usfsclrd.
- By calling 970-541-1008.
- By texting LCEVAC to 888777 or visiting nocoalerts.org for evacuation information and alerts.
Resources available to evacuated residents include: 970-498-7120 for residents seeking shelter; 970-443-3231 for those needing help evacuating large animals; and 970-226-3647, ext. 7 for those needing help evacuating small animals.
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August 17, 2020 at 04:49AM
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Cameron Peak fire doubled to 12,124 acres - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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