Rain fell on parts of the Aspen Acres fire Wednesday, offering some relief to crews fighting the largest wildfire currently burning in Colorado. But heavier storms expected Thursday could bring a new threat: flash flooding across the burn scar.
Fire officials expect Wednesday’s precipitation and higher humidity levels to reduce significant fire spread Thursday, Alaska Complex incident Management Team 1 said Thursday morning.
But showers and thunderstorms over the fire Thursday could also bring strong winds that fuel fire behavior and also trigger flash floods over the Aspen Acres burn scar. Rye, San Isabel, Beulah and Colorado City could see flash flooding as heavy rain falls between noon to 8 p.m, forecasters at the National Weather Service said.
In a Wednesday afternoon briefing, Jake Livingston, incident commander of the Alaska team, warned of the potential danger as heavy rain rolls down exposed bare soil after a wildfire.
“Two feet of flowing mud can move a full-size truck, so it’s really something you have to watch out for,” Livingston said.
Thursday marked the 11th day of efforts to contain the fire, which has drawn 1,831 personnel from at least 29 states. The fire is roughly burning 96,121 acres, ranking the seventh largest fire in Colorado history, and is 14% contained.
Officials said Wednesday the fire has burned at least 275 homes in Pueblo and Custer counties. At least 192 in Pueblo County, mostly in the Beulah area, have been marked as destroyed, Pueblo County Sheriff Dave Lucero said, adding that county officials are only 67% of their way through damage assessments.
The National Interagency Fire Center map shows wildfires burning in Colorado.
The Ferris fire burning near Dolores grew by nearly 3,000 acres after increased activity on the fire’s western side, officials said Thursday morning.
The fire is now burning 60,105 acres and is 19% contained, according to officials with the San Juan National Forest.
Crews worked to secure the southwestern corner of the fire, between Dolores County roads M.4 and S, including stopping fire from destroying Bradfield Bridge Campground. Flames reached the campground, but no structures were impacted, fire officials said.
Two hotshot crews, several fire engines and an unmanned aircraft system used controlled fires along Forest Road 521 to remove unburned fuel between the fire and the road.
Along the northwestern side of the fire, on the east side of the Dolores River Canyon north of Glade Canyon, crews faced challenges because of the rough topography and active fire behavior. The fire made runs through Big Spring Gulch and Glade Canyon but stayed within the retardant lines that firefighting aircraft put on the rim Tuesday.
In the Dolores River Canyon, the fire continued to actively burn but did not make any significant uphill runs to the rim, officials said.
Temperatures Thursday are expected to be in the upper 80s with relative humidity levels falling around 10% to 15%, fire officials said. Gusty, erratic winds from distant storms will threaten firefighters’ progress.
No “appreciable” rainfall is expected this week, but rain could come next week.
Firefighters on the Gold Mountain fire in southwestern Colorado are making “steady progress” on containment lines to protect communities and critical infrastructure. Crews are taking advantage of the favorable conditions before warmer, drier weather is expected going into the weekend, Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3 said Thursday.
The fire, which started June 27, is burning 31,131 acres and is 8% contained.
Infrared mapping shows minimal growth in many areas but most of the heat is largely confined to tree stumps, dead and downed fuels and interior pockets of burning, fire officials said. Firefighters will continue monitoring these areas to prevent fire crossing containment lines and threatening any nearby structures or values at risk. Teams are also working on defensible space near Silver Jack Reservoir, High Mesa, Bear Claw and the surrounding communities.
Thursday’s forecast calls for lower humidity levels and wind gusts up to 25 mph. Some thunderstorms could roll though the fire area, but are not expected to produce meaningful rain.
An extreme heat watch is in effect Saturday and Sunday.
Despite storms in the Leadville area, rain missed the Willow fire, officials said Thursday, warning that hotter, drier and windier weather is forecast over the fire into the weekend. Smoke from the Willow fire could become more visible if fire activity increases with the higher temperatures.
As of Thursday morning, the fire was roughly burning 4,364 acres and was 16% contained.
Helicopters are continuing to drop buckets of water on the fire, mostly on the northern perimeter and initial attack crews are staged to respond to any new lightning-caused wildfires near Willow fire.
Officials made changes to evacuation zones “to improve public safety and ease of travel along U.S. 24.” The latest evacuation information can be found here.
This is a developing story that will be updated.
Type of Story: News
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
