Containment of the Cameron Peak Fire did not change on Thursday, staying at 64%, but as crews are able to get out and check the containment lines that percentage could increase in coming days, according to operations section chief Kyle Cannon of the Pacific Northwest Team 2.
In a virtual public meeting on Facebook Thursday night, fire managers discussed conditions over the 208,663-acre Cameron Peak Fire area as well as the East Troublesome Fire spot fire in Rocky Mountain National Park.
That fire remains at 4,346 acres with no containment yet.
Cannon said teams are evaluating the ability to get to the fire lines after the weekend snowstorm dropped as much as 27 inches of snow in the Pingree Park area.
In a Thursday morning update he explained the snow that fell over the weekend was helpful, but it created access difficulties. Since then, fire crews have been working to get in to remote areas to see how the snow affected the fire, he said in the morning, and in the evening he reported some success at checking various areas.
Access was good Thursday at the spot fire in RMNP, and plans there are to continue to improve the indirect lines around the fire and look at options to secure the edge, he said.
In the Cedar Park area, more containment may be reported on Friday, Cannon said.
In the area of Storm Mountain and The Retreat, crews plan to get in and look at options for containment.
Nearby, crews flew over the Glen Haven and North Fork Trail area on Thursday.
“We see some hot along the fire edge there,” Cannon reported.
Crews continue to monitor the Pingree Park area, which also showed some heat, he said.
The northernmost part of the Cameron Peak Fire area is on patrol status now, considered contained.
Rob Allen, incident commander for Pacific Northwest Team 2, said his team and the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office meet daily to assess evacuation areas so residents can return when it appears safe.
Questioned about why residents and tourists have been allowed to return to the Estes Park area, he said the decision involved a long conversation between the agencies in which they decided the snow had done a good job to slow the fire and there is no immediate threat of it running into town.
Tourists are being allowed in Estes Park, although Park Service or Forest Service lands in the area are closed, there are limited services in town, and tourists should be prepared to leave at a moment’s notice.
Allen said there are resources and a plan in place in case the fire starts to move again.
He also addressed rumors that Rocky Mountain National Park officials were not allowing retardant drops in the park and that they were allowing only Park Service or Forest Service personnel to fight the fire within the park.
Allen said firefighters from a variety of agencies are working in the park, and that no one had considered use of retardant there.
It was too windy for aircraft to fly when the spot fire began burning in the park, then the snowstorm started Saturday.
Asked about the potential for the Cameron Peak and East Troublesome fires to merge, Cannon said it had been a concern last week, but the snow that fell lessened that fear. “At this point it’s pretty unlikely,” he said.
Allen also discussed what goes into considering a fire contained.
Firefighters have to feel confident it will not move outside the containment area. Before calling a perimeter contained, fire crews will walk the line and feel the ground for any heat.
“We keep working on this until it’s not hot,” Allen said.
Crews also are making plans for repairing the damage caused during the creation of fire lines, then a second team, a Burn Area Emergency Response Team, will come in to work on potential issues such as erosion control, he said.
Also on Thursday, the Sheriff’s Office downgraded the evacuation order from mandatory to voluntary for the west side of County Road 27, from the Bobcat Ridge Natural Area north to County Road 44H, and for the area along County Road 43 from Streamside Drive east to Storm Mountain Road.
In his Thursday morning briefing, LCSO Capt. Joe Shellhammer added that the Sheriff’s Office will look at the Upper Buckhorn, Pingree and Monument Gulch areas for possible reductions in evacuation status.
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October 30, 2020 at 10:25AM
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Cameron Peak Fire containment still 64%, but likely to increase - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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