A RED FLAG warning has been issued for today; this is the third day in a row where conditions are ideal for rapid fire spread and for the chances of any ignition source starting new fires. With the predicted weather and the volatile fuels, the fire is again expected to make significant runs. The total acreage for the West Fork Fire Complex rose from 12,710 acres Wednesday morning to 29,911 acres as of 6:00 AM Fridaymorning. Most of the gain in acreage was on the West Fork Fire.
West Fork Fire: Fire behavior on the West Fork fire was extreme; it made a close to 7-mile -run in a northeasterly direction. Eric Norton, Fire Behavior Analyst for the NIMO Team, said “The fire behavior we saw yesterday was so extreme, it was undocumented and unprecedented” The fire more than doubled in size going from 12,001 acres to close to 29,000 acres today. The fire burned in a northeasterly direction crossing the Continental Divide and burning on the ridge above Big Meadows Reservoir down to Metroz Lake. In some locations the fire is only ½ mile from Highway 160. Firefighters were able to hold the fire from spreading to the south and all structures and cabins at Borns Lake were not affected by yesterday’s fire activity.
Windy Pass Fire: The Windy Pass Fire only grew by about 300 acres yesterday and firefighters have been able to hold the Windy Pass Fire within the established indirect containment lines. There was a spot fire to the east of the ski area yesterday that hand crews were able to catch and extinguish.
Evacuations: There are multiple ongoing evacuations and pre-evacuations for the most update information on evacuations please go to www.acemergency.org or call 970 731-2745
Closures: Again there are multiple road and trail closures the primary ones are Highway 160 and all roads and trails accessing 160 between South Fork and Treasure Falls.
Public Meetings: There will be a public meeting in Pagosa Springs tonight, Friday June 21st, 7:00 PM in the community center. The public meeting scheduled this morning for Creede has been postponed.
