Snow and windy conditions Saturday prevented crews working on the Cameron Peak Fire from continuing with the repair work they did on Friday.
Steve North, operations sections chief for Pacific Northwest Team 10 said in a Saturday morning Facebook update that crews would use the time for training and rest “so that when the weather does improve, we can get our foot back on the gas and complete this work to remove the hazards that are out there and to repair the fire area.”
Winds in excess of 70 mph and 4-8 inches of snow were predicted in the fire area.
Fire managers cited the risk of frostbite and driving high profile vehicles in dangerous wind conditions as safety concerns, but added firefighters were “ready and available to engage flare ups do occur.”
With the fire remaining at 208,913 acres and 92% containment, crews have focused in recent days on repairs to areas where fire lines were built.
Repair work underway
Liaison officer Shawnee Hinman reported in a Friday night community meeting on Facebook that the suppression repair team had received many reports of where repairs are needed on private land.
“We want to let you know the team is now fully engaged in doing that suppression repair work both on public and private land throughout the area.
“We’ll continue to do that work on private land up until the point that the county sheriff takes back over command of that operation in the coming days,” he said.
Suppression repair focuses on repairing the manmade damage caused by firefighting operations, he said, such as dozer lines and hand lines.
Hinman added there is also damage caused by the fire itself, something a Burn Area Emergency Response team is working to assess.
He said that crew had been out in September and did an initial assessment, and has returned to do more assessment, and will turn over a report to the U.S. Forest Service in about a week.
Protecting the watersheds will be a focus of that plan.
Hinman said fire managers know there is fire damage on private land too, and
Larimer County will help coordinate that recovery work.
He said people can email the Larimer County Office of Emergency Management for information at oem@larimer.org.
Challenging fire season
On Saturday 415 firefighters were assigned to the fire, down from more than 1,000 at the height of the fire.
As the Pacific Northwest Team 10’s time on the fire winds down, fire managers also talked at the community meeting Friday night about the long and challenging fire season they’ve seen.
“This has been quite the summer,” North said.
Pacific Northwest Team 10 has managed six fires since June, including four over 100,000 acres, he said.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to be here in Colorado to help you recover from this fire.”
Incident commander Al Lawson also spoke to the community on behalf of the team.
“The whole hallway is lined with thank you letters, posts, etc., etc., we’re seeing things online — the outpouring of gratitude for all the teams that have been here has been outstanding, and we’re no different. Consequently I’d also like to reach out to the community and thank you guys.”
Lawson said the community provided help, assistance and motivation that was important for the firefighters.
“It’s tough,” he noted “We’re away from our families, most of us have been out on an incredibly long summer into fall. None of us would have expected when we started in June that we’d be here in November still fighting fires, an incredibly unusual fire season.”
The team has been out on six fires, 21- to 26 day-fires, back to back, Lawson said.
“Like you, we’re fatigued, we’re fatigued with fire as well. The reason that we’re here is to bring some normalcy back to your lives. That’s our highest priority.”
Adapting to COVID-19
Lawson also discussed COVID-19. One of the outbreaks in Larimer County is among Cameron Peak firefighters.
He said as an incident commander he loses sleep over public and firefighter safety, and COVID-19 has been a challenge that he described as dealing with an unknown enemy.
“We’re mitigated it to the best of our abilities, but just like the public we’ve had our challenges, including this fire,” he said.
Lawson said COVID-19 has affected the ability of fire teams to fight fires, “but we’ve been able to adapt to it. I’m hopeful that the 2021 fire season it will be a different story, but we’re going to continue to take it seriously.”
The Cameron Peak Fire started Aug. 13. The estimated containment date is now Nov. 22.
The cause remains under investigation.
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As Cameron Peak Fire work shifts to repair mode, firefighters look back on long, challenging season - Loveland Reporter-Herald
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