Evening Update on High Park Fire - 062012

The High Park Fire is estimated at 68,200 acres with 55% containment. The current cost of the fire to date is estimated at $19.6 million dollars. There are 1,978 fire personnel and 132 engines fighting the fire at this time with a 24-hour work schedule in place.

Fire officials issued an all-clear for Soldier Canyon and Mill Canyon Estates effective at 10 am today, June 20th. All residents are asked to remain on alert. If fire conditions worsen, this area may be required to evacuate again. Power has been restored to this area. ** (301 notifications sent)

Fire officials issued an all-clear for the Hewlett Gulch area (effective at 12:15 p.m.) that is south and east of McNay Hill, south of County Road 74E, which includes Hewlett Gulch Road, Deer Meadow Way, Gordon Creek Lane and connecting roadways in that area. We are asking residents in this area to please stay off roadways between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. when fire crews are changing shifts so that roadways are open to allow for the shift change to be completed. This evacuation lift does NOT include the 9th-12th Filings of Glacier View, which is still under a mandatory evacuation.

Residents in the area south of Horsetooth have been allowed back in. This is Milner Ranch Road to Gindler Ranch. This is NOT to be confused with the Stratton Park area, which is still under evacuation.

Weather allowing, residents of Poudre Park will be allowed to return on Thursday, 6/21/12, after 12 pm (noon). Credentials will be required and may be obtained at the checkpoint at Highway 14 and 29C. A mandatory meeting for all Poudre Park residents will be held at the fire station or community center (depending on the number of attendees) at 7 p.m. tomorrow night, 6/21/2012. The reintegration process will be discussed at that time. NOTE: THIS DOES NOT INCLUDE UNGER MOUNTAIN ROAD, FALLS GULCH ROAD AND KING'S CANYON ROAD (Boyd Gulch Road).

17 helicopters are assisting ground crews, supporting suppression and any necessary medical evacuation efforts. Emphasis is on structure protection throughout the fire area and is still a high priority.

A spot fire in the NW corner of the fire (over Poudre Canyon Road/HWY 14) triggered a Pre-Evacuation for the Rustic area on Tuesday. Fire officials have issued a new pre-evacuation order for the area of Hwy 14 from the Pingree Park Road west to approximately mile marker 90, just west of the Glen Echo Resort. Residents in this area need to be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice. This includes a road called Rustic Road, which runs south off of Hwy 14 (just west of Glen Echo). Residents in this area need to evacuate west on Hwy 14 to Walden, if a mandatory evacuation becomes necessary.

Utility companies are working in areas to re-establish power where it is safe to do so. They will be in areas where they can make permanent fixes, not in areas where there is a re-evacuation or high fire activity.

It should be noted that yesterday, June 19th, the Board of Larimer County Commissioners added additional fire restrictions on Open Fires, Contained Open Fires and the Sale and Use of Fireworks and Public Fireworks Displays for the unincorporated areas of Larimer County through September 30, 2012.

• For additional details on the fire ban, please see the following link: http://www.larimer.org/news/newsDetail.cfm?id=1574

Photos and Video from the National Guard of the High Park Fire are available at the following sites:

• Photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/conationalguard/sets/72157630072014657/

• Video http://www.dvidshub.net/tags/video/high-park-fires#.T-IU7hfDf3R

There are roaming patrols, National Guard personnel and video surveillance being used to ensure that residences in the burn area remain safe and are not targets of looting.

Fire Behavior:
Cooler temperatures and higher humidity allowed the firefighters to make progress on containment lines today. Crews continued to build indirect line on the southeast flank, south of Laurence Creek Lane. The west flank, south of Highway 14, was very active today near the junction of Poudre Canyon Highway and Pingree Park Road. Firefighters worked to strengthen the containment lines in this area by burning out the unburned fuels between the road and the fire’s edge. The spot fire west of Pingree Park Road was contained. Within the interior, firefighters continue to identify and mop up hotspots near the unburned islands and around structures.

Structures damaged:
After another assessment of homes earlier this week, there are eight additional homes confirmed destroyed in the Buckhorn area down to Redstone Canyon for a total of 189 homes destroyed to date, but we anticipate this number could go up once the official assessment is complete.

Officials are informing homeowners about fire damage as that information becomes available and the priority will be getting this information to residents first. As more assessments are made and information becomes available, residents will be notified by subdivision at the daily citizen briefings. Areas still evacuated are being evaluated to determine when residents may re-enter. Factors being considered before lifting an evacuation include fire activity, utility repair, emergency traffic in the area, and road hazards such as falling rocks and trees. Formal assessment of structures is a methodical process and will continue for at least a couple of weeks. Some areas are still inaccessible due to fire activity and road hazards.

For a complete list of areas that remain evacuated and roads that are closed, visit http://www.larimer.org/emergency/.

Road Closure Information:
Larimer County Sheriff's Office now has a webpage dedicated to road closures due to the High Park Fire. Visit the link http://larimersheriff.org/site-page/high-park-fire-road-information for more information.

Media Information:
• The June 21st 9:30 am briefing will be held at the Incident Command Post at the Armory at 3324 Laporte Ave. in Fort Collins.
• Following this briefing, there will be a media advisory panel at 10:30 am at the High Park Fire Incident Command Post, located at 3342 West Laporte in Fort Collins. This discussion panel will be an opportunity to listen and pose questions to Fire Chiefs of departments directly involved with the High Park Fire.

Additional Information:
Larimer County has opened the High Park Fire Disaster Recovery Center on the Colorado State University Campus at Johnson Hall. The center is open Mon-Fri from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Parking is free for victims on the south side of the administration building. For more information, please visit their website at http://www.safety.colostate.edu.

Effective June 20, 2012: Eagle's Nest Open Space is OPEN to the public.

Effective June 20, 2012: County Road 23 (aka Centennial Drive), on the east side of Horsetooth Reservoir is OPEN. This includes Sunrise Swim Beach and other day use areas on the east side of Horsetooth Reservoir.

Public information is available at the Larimer County Emergency Information line at 970-498-5500 where information officers are answering the phone during the day and evening, and at www.larimer.org or on Twitter @larimersheriff or Inciweb at www.inciweb.org/incident/2904/.

Find out if your loved ones are safe here (United Way Safe and Well Registry):
https://safeandwell.communityos.org/cms/index.php

For the latest updated map of the High Park Fire, check out this link:
http://larimer.org/highparkfire/highpark_0619_2200.pdf
Residents are reminded to receive emergency notifications on cell phones or email and should visit the website at www.leta911.org.

For Public Health Advisories regarding wildfires, see "Wildfires and Your Health" at www.larimer.org

Julie M. Berney
Public Information Officer
Larimer County Sheriff's Office
970-980-2501