Information from the High Park Fire Public Information Officer
This is the morning update on the High Park Fire issued at 11:18 a.m.
Fire officials have issued an all-clear for residents on Kings Canyon Rd, Unger
Mountain Rd, Smith Bridge Rd, Manners Ln, and residents living on Hwy 14 from
Kings Canyon Rd west to the Grey Rock Trail Head. Residents will need to show
identification with proof of address at the Hwy 14/County Rd 29C roadblock in
order to obtain a pass to enter the area. Passes will be issued starting at noon
today, June 24th. Residents are reminded to drive with caution in the area as
fire crews continue to work the fire.
This is the morning update on the High Park Fire issued at 10:45 a.m.
The
High Park Fire is estimated at 82,114 acres with 45 percent containment. The
current cost of the fire to date is estimated at $27.6 million dollars. There
are 1923 fire personnel and
that number will increase as additional resources arrive today. In addition
there are 13 Type 1 hand crews, 21 Type 2 hand crews, 154 engines, 11 dozers and
27 water tenders. Air Resources include 6 Type 1 helicopters, 3 Type 2
helicopters, 6 Type 3 helicopters, 5 heavy air tankers, 1 Type 2 helicopter with
a radiometric imaging system attached and fixed wing support
aircraft.
Emergency
evacuations were ordered Friday to include all
residents of filings 1 through 8 in Glacier View, homes north of County Rd 74E
to include Green Mountain Dr., Mount Axtell Dr., Mount Moriah Rd., Mount Simon
Dr. and all connecting roadways in that area. An
additional evacuation was issued along Highway 14 from Hewlett Rd. and Wild
River Rd., east on Hwy 14 to include Falls Creek Dr, all of Poudre Park,
Wonderful Place, Ray Shoal Lane and east to Manners Lane. This includes all
homes addressed on the north and south sides of Hwy 14 between Hewlett Rd and
Manners Ln. Fire officials also
included an emergency evacuation order for residents along County Road 74E from
Hewlett Gulch Road east to County Road 37. Residents should evacuate to Cache La
Poudre Middle School at
3515 W. CR54G in Laporte and
these evacuation orders are still in place.
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:
Redfeather
Lakes Road (74E) is closed from 287 to Boy Scout Ranch Road (68C). Residents
only can make it to MM1 on 74E.
Residents of
Redfeather Lakes can travel west by taking 68C to 69 and West on Hwy 14.
Redfeather 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 yesterday
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.
Today crews will
continue to mop up and reinforce fire lines around structures within the fire
perimeter. On the newly established fire north of Poudre Canyon, crews will
focus on line construction and strengthening of completed lines. Structure
protection resources will continue to work to ensure that the fire will not
further affect structures within and adjacent to the Glacier View area.
Around the main fire
perimeter, south of Poudre Canyon, crews will continue to secure containment
lines on the southeast and west flanks. The fire has burned to the top of West
White Pine Mountain and crews will manage the fire to bring it slowly down the
hill to containment lines. Crews within the fire perimeter will continue to
construct line around the unburned islands and structures and mop up any
hotspots that are found.
A RAMS (Radiometric
Airborne Mapping System) unit was ordered and arrived yesterday afternoon. The
radiometric imaging 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. Temperatures will be 82 to 94 degrees with
relative humidity of 11 to 15 percent. Winds will be lighter today, 10 to 15
mph, but there is a chance of dry lightning over the fire area. Wind gusts of up
to 50 mph will be possible with any thunderstorm. The Haines Index is 6 and that
indicates there is a high potential for extreme fire behavior, intensity, and
growth
Structures Damaged:
The
total of homes destroyed to date is 191. A very initial report indicated 4 to 10
more structures may be destroyed with the increase in fire activity.
The
number of structures and outbuildings reported lost may increase as official
verifications and confirmations are completed. Additional information will be
available at the 5 p.m. citizens meeting today.
Field assessments
are being conducted to determine the extent of fire spread, values at risk, and
appropriate actions. The number of structures and outbuildings reported lost may
increase as official verifications and confirmations are completed. Official
assessments and confirmations of lost structures from yesterday's fire activity
have been unable to be conducted due to active fire behavior today. Large,
unburned interior islands continue to pose threats to homes on the interior of
the fire.
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):
The
daily citizen briefing will be held at 5:00 p.m. at The Ranch at I-25 and
Crossroads Blvd.
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:
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.
There
will be an 8:00 p.m. media briefing tonight at the Atmospheric Science building,
3915 W. Laporte Avenue in Fort Collins
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):
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/
