The Crested Butte News Serving the Gunnison Valley since 1999
Several CB personnel and trucks deployed
By Katherine Nettles
A nearly 4,200-acre fire on the south rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park east of Montrose has been a major source of focus for regional and state-wide agencies since it started last week and it is also impacting the local valley. As a result of the blaze, air quality, visibility and local resources, as well as recreational access to Blue Mesa Reservoir in Gunnison County, have been affected.
Authorities caution that as hot, dry conditions and afternoon winds with dry lightning persist, it will be difficult to contain the wildfire, and numerous additional fires have ignited throughout the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests and in neighboring counties. The risk is high for more fires developing across the region, and Gunnison County has been under stage 1 fire restrictions since July 3.
Lightning strikes on the morning of Thursday, July 10 ignited fires on both the north rim and the south rim of the Black Canyon; however, the South Rim Fire quickly became the more significant of the two with the fire on the north rim fully contained on Saturday. As of Wednesday, July 16, the South Rim Fire had spanned 4,160 acres. The west end of Blue Mesa has been closed in addition to the Black Canyon, and evacuations have been issued in parts of Montrose County.
In Gunnison County, only minor and short-lived fires have occurred, but local fire protection district authorities emphasize that resources from multiple agencies are depleted by the active fires close by, so extreme caution is needed.
“The Crested Butte Fire Protection District currently has a Type VI Brush Truck deployed with a crew of four personnel: Joe Blunn (Engine Boss), Randy Felix (Engine Boss Trainee), Sean Slattery (Firefighter Type II) and Bruce Nation (Firefighter Type II),” confirmed CB Fire Protection District chief Rob Weisbaum. “Despite this deployment, the district remains prepared for initial wildfire response within our boundaries, with resources still available locally. However, should a large-scale incident occur, we would rely heavily on mutual aid and additional outside support.”
Weisbaum noted that there are four active wildfires on the Western Slope: the South Rim Fire, Turner Gulch Fire, Sowbelly Fire and Wright Draw Fire. These incidents are being managed by a combination of local, state and federal agencies. Governor Jared Polis has issued a disaster declaration in response, unlocking state funding and resources to aid suppression efforts.
“Fortunately, there are no active wildfires within Gunnison County or its immediate surroundings,” said Weisbaum. “The smoke visible in our valley is likely drifting in from these regional fires, as well as others burning out of state and to the west.”
Air quality information can be found at www.colorado.gov/airquality/colo_advisory.aspx?county=gunnison
Since the fire started last week, authorities have reported that the chief focus has been preventing the fire from spreading to critical infrastructure including a dam and power infrastructure. Most of the South Rim Fire is on National Park Service land and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land. Wind events earlier this week caused rapid fire spread, and firefighting resources have had to pull back temporarily at various points for safety reasons.
The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has been evacuated and is closed to the public, and Highway 347 is closed at the junction of Highway 50. Bostwick Park community in Montrose County has been under an evacuation since Saturday, and the National Park Service has also closed the west side of Blue Mesa Reservoir from Middle Bridge to assist firefighting aircraft, which are utilizing the reservoir for water resupply. The reservoir is currently closed to boating, and no reopening date has yet been set.
Fire response
According to the South Rim Fire update from the incident management team on Wednesday, there are currently 420 personnel involved in the response from around the state, including five aircraft, eight crews, 21 engines, four dozers and three water tenders. The Colorado Department of Fire Protection and Control is providing a surge of additional engines, water tenders and overhead personnel this week to complement the other resources.
The incident command reported that two scooper airplanes filling up in Blue Mesa continually dropped water over the northwest side of the fire over a five-hour period Monday, giving firefighters on the ground an opportunity to gain progress where Sunday evening’s wind event had pushed the fire to the west of the northern perimeter. Airtankers also dropped retardant to support suppression efforts on the ground.
Structure protection crews in the Bostwick community have gotten set up in the area, and firefighters conducted operations on the southern end of the fire Monday night to hold back the fire from progressing further south.
Firefighters have now completed direct fire lines on the northwest fire perimeter and constructed indirect fire lines where possible to provide eventual containment potential. Wednesday they began focusing on fire lines at the western perimeter as well.
“Air resources (helicopters, airtankers, and water scoopers) will support suppression activities with water and retardant drops on the north and northwest side of the fire as needed,” continued the report. “Firefighters will continue to scout and assess areas on the eastern side to develop a plan to hold the fire from spreading.”
According to the incident command’s public information officer Bethany Urban, water scoopers have been able to take about 33,000 gallons from Blue Mesa to drop as fire retardant.
“Each scooper takes about 12 seconds to fill, and picks up about 1,412 gallons at a time, she said. “It takes about three seconds to drop the water over the fire area.”
Weather and fire behavior
The incident command reported that temperatures were expected to continue in the mid to high 80’s with relative humidity in the mid-teens through this week, with mid-afternoon thunderstorm activity and accompanying gusty, west-southwesterly winds up to 15 mph expected. The fire is expected to become more active during these times.
A hotline has been established for South Rim Fire information at 970-240-1070.
