Evening Update for the High Park Fire - 6/24/12

Evening Update for the High Park Fire - 6/24/12

The High Park Fire is estimated at 83,205 acres with 45 percent containment.  The current cost of the fire to date is estimated at $29.6 million dollars.  There are 2,037 fire personnel and that number will increase as additional resources arrive.  In addition there are 13 Type 1 hand crews, 21 Type 2 hand crews, 170 engines, 12 dozers and 26 water tenders.  Air Resourcesinclude 7 Type I helicopters, 3 Type II helicopters, 9 Type III helicopters, 5 heavy air tankers, 1 Type II helicopter with a radiometric imaging system attached and fixed wing support aircraft.

Sunday - crews continued to reinforce line, mop up and work structure protection throughout the fire. Firefighters feel fairly secure about the north side of the fire in the Glacier View area; however, this will continue to be a focus tomorrow. The southwest portion of the fire remains an area of concern. Fire was backing down there today and got pretty aggressive. Firefighters added fire in the area to work it to their advantage, but no large scale burning out took place. There were spot fires, but crews caught them today. Crews will continue to work this area tonight. Firefighters also continued to monitor and reinforce portions of the south side of the fire and feel fairly confident in this area. 

Monday - firefighters will continue to strengthen the line on the north, monitor areas with structures and other areas throughout, staff the southwest portion heavily, and holding on to what we've got. The Type I Team transitioned to a new Type I Team led by Incident Commander Beth Lund due assignment conclusion.

Fire officials have ordered a pre-evacuation notice to Bonner Peak Subdivision, including Springs Ranch Rd.  The pre-evacuation is also for County Road 74E from the junction of Hwy 287, west to include County Road 37, north to include County Road 76H, east to Hwy 287 and south to County Road 74E.  All residents need to be prepared to evacuate at a moment's notice.

Residents of Red Feather Lakes and Crystal Lakes are asked to use Cherokee Park Road (CR 80C) to access their residences as County Road 74E is closed at Mile Marker 1.  However, residents can go south on Boy Scout Ranch Road to Hwy 14 and go west on Hwy 14.

The Rist Canyon, Glacier View and Poudre Canyon Volunteer Fire Departments are looking for donations to help defray the costs of firefighters assigned to the High Park Fire. To make a donation, please visit their websites at:

Glacier View Fire-www.glacierviewfiredept.com

Rist Canyon Fire- www.rcvfd.org

Poudre Canyon Fire-www.poudrecanyonfpd.org (Website is temporarily unavailable.) Contributions may be made to Cache La Poudre Fire & Emergency Group, P.O. Box 952, Laporte, CO 80535

Note These Road Closures:

Red Feather Lakes Road (74E) is closed from 287 to Boy Scout Ranch Road (68C).  Residents only can make it to MM1 on 74E.

Residents of Red Feather Lakes can travel west by taking 68C to 69 and west on Hwy 14.  Red Feather residents can travel east by taking 67J (Prairie Drive) north to 80C (Cherokee Park Rd).  These are windy dirt roads and it should be noted that 82E is a jeep road.

Hwy 14 is open from Ted's place to 29C.  Beyond 29C, Hwy 14 is open to King's Canyon Road for residents only.  Hwy 14 is closed to everyone from King's Canyon Road to Gould. 

Fire Behavior:

The spot fire in Glacier View was estimated to be 10,000 acres or 15.6 square miles.  With hot, dry conditions and wind gusts to 35 mph, the spots became established Friday in dry fuels and made an aggressive push to the northeast.  Structure protection resources activated sprinklers before being forced to move back to a safe area due to fire intensity. 

North of the Poudre River line construction, reinforcement, holding, and structure protection are on-going in this area. Large, unburned interior islands continue to pose threats to homes on the interior of the fire. Hundreds of residences remain evacuated.  The fire continues to spread west into steep, inaccessible areas with beetle killed timber on the west and southwest portions of fire.

The radiometric imaging system, RAMS (Radiometric Airborne Mapping System) attached to the bottom of a helicopter, will provide infrared information similar to what officials have been using, with some key differences.  The advantage of the RAMS unit is that it can be used during the daytime, and it can provide real time GPS coordinates for areas of identified heat.  In addition it can provide information about the heat source (open flame, smoldering, buried, or diminishing heat).  This information will help firefighters determine where suppression efforts should be focused.

Weather:

A Red Flag Warning is in effect until 10:00 p.m. this evening and another Red Flag Warning has been issued for Monday June 25, 2012 from 11:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.  Temperatures will be 84 to 95 degrees with relative humidity of 10 to 15 percent.  Winds are forecast to be 10 to 15 mph.

Structures Damaged:

The total of homes destroyed to date is 248 which is an increase from the previous report of 191. The additional 57 homes lost were in the Glacier View/Hewlett Gulch area. 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.  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.

Resident Information (Meetings, Evacuation Notices and Evacuation Lift Notices):

Citizen Briefings will be at 5:00 p.m. but the location has changed to the Cache La Poudre Middle School, 3515 W. CR54G in Laporte.

Other Fire Activity

Firefighters and air resources responded to a fire near Halligan Reservoir tonight. This fire grew to approximately 2 - 3 acres and resources felt they had a handle on it.

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.

Photo and Video Links:

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

Additional Information/Resources:

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 9 a.m. to 6 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.

The next Media Briefing is at the Atmospheric Science building, 3915 W. Laporte Avenue in Fort Collins at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, June 25, 2012.

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_0622_2236.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 http://www.larimer.org/health/