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As wildfires continue to burn across Colorado, firefighters battling the state’s largest fire on the Western Slope gained ground, bringing the Snyder fire to 10% containment, officials said Wednesday morning.
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Crews made significant progress Tuesday, establishing a control line along the fire’s southwestern flank, according to the Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1. Firefighters plan to continue looking for areas to safely engage with the fire’s perimeter and strengthen containment lines.
A Type 1 Skycrane helicopter, which can carry 2,650 gallons of water, flew over the eastern side of the fire, cooling it down significantly, officials said. The fire slowed as it chewed through all of the fuels and reached a rocky area.
The wind-driven Snyder fire, which has burned through more than 30,209 acres along the Colorado-Utah border, killed three firefighters during its initial attack and prompted Mesa County’s largest-ever evacuation of 123 campers and six dogs near the Colorado River as the fire spread through rugged terrain.
On Tuesday, Nick Ostrom, operation section chief, said conditions looked more favorable for firefighters, but crews remained on ready for winds to pick up.
“Minimal growth the last couple of the days and that was because of the weather, especially the winds have been much lighter,” Ostrom, operations section chief said in a recorded briefing on the fire.
“Our firefighters are on high alert just in case this fire picks up and tries to do what it did a couple days ago.”
Gold Mountain fire
Strong winds fueled the large wildfire burning 2 miles northeast of Ouray, pushing flames east across the Cow Creek drainage, according to a Wednesday morning update from the Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3.
The fire made a significant run up Stealy Mountain and moved northeast toward the Owl Creek Pass area, prompting evacuations for hikers and dispersed campers out of the Silverjack and West Fork of the Cimarron drainage area in the San Juan mountains, officials said.
On Wednesday, firefighters are working to prevent the fire from spreading south toward Ouray.
On the western side of the fire, steep terrain is limiting firefighters’ ability to extinguish the flames directly. Aerial crews will be scouting areas where ground crews can safely construct firelines and continue to protect the Highway 550 corridor and structures at risk, officials said.
The fire could be more active Wednesday morning because of dry air overnight. Temperatures are expected between 78 and 82 degrees and relative humidity levels as low as 9%.
“Expect to see moderate to extreme fire behavior throughout the course of the day,” officials wrote in an update.
Aspen Acres fire
Night crews battling the Aspen Acres fire burning in Pueblo and Custer counties had “their work cut out for them” as powerful winds from Tuesday night’s storms fueled extreme fire behavior, according to the Colorado Incident Management Team.
A dedicated group of firefighters are working to protect structures threatened by the fire in the Beulah Valley, around Lake Isabel and other areas, officials said.
At least 155 structures were lost — 100 in Pueblo County and 55 in Custer County — from the fire, county officials said Tuesday.
Fire growth was minimal Tuesday night and officials estimated the fire at 28,363 acres Wednesday morning.
The main concern Wednesday are isolated thunderstorms that could bring lightning and strong erratic wind gusts up to 50 mph, the incident management team team. Dry vegetation and dead trees killed by insect damage in the area are creating high wildfire danger.
“Expect long-range spotting, where embers ignite new fires well ahead of the main fire,” officials wrote in an update. “Until the area receives significant rainfall or humidity increases, wildfire conditions will remain critical.”
Ferris fire
The Ferris fire, burning 15 miles northwest of Dolores, scorched 23,287 acres as of Wednesday morning — up by about 2,000 acres the day before.
But federal officials said the fire did not grow significantly in the northeast, closest to evacuated homes. Crews performed a burnout operation to remove unburned fuel from the fire and National Forest Service Road 240 to create a containment line to protect the Glade Ranch subdivision.
The lightning-caused fire has not reached private lands or the Benchmark Lookout Tower.
Helicopters making water drops support firefighters on the ground Tuesday, but high winds with gusts up to 50 mph are expected Wednesday, which could ground all aerial crews.
Willow fire
Fire crews worked Tuesday to build a fire line on the east side of the fire to keep the flames from moving toward Leadville. The fire is burning about 6 miles to the west of Leadville. More firefighters were brought in Tuesday to work overnight, and the plan for Wednesday is to reinforce that line. There are nearly 200 firefighters working the fire as of Tuesday evening.
The Willow fire, which has burned 2,011 acres as of Tuesday night, started Sunday afternoon about 2 miles northwest of the Leadville fish hatchery and moved to the north toward Turquoise Lake. No injuries have been reported and no structures have burned as of Wednesday morning.
Big Sheep fire
Pre evacuation orders are still in effect for the Big Sheep fire that has burned nearly 1,000 acres since being first reported Monday afternoon near Moonshine Ranch, which is west of Walsenburg.
A Helitack crew from the state’s fire division is working with firefighters on the ground to attack hot spots and build containment lines, the Huerfano County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
The fire was about 30% contained, as of Tuesday. The cause of the fire has not been released.
This is a developing story that will be updated.