High Park Fire – Friday Morning Update [8:40 a.m.]

The High Park Fire west of Fort Collins  has grown to 52,068 acres and is 15% contained. The current cost of the fire to date is now estimated at $7.2 million dollars. fire officials issued some late night evacuations last night after the  Fire jumped the Poudre River.

EVACUATIONS

Late last night, fire officials issued an evacuation order for the 9th, 10th, and 11th filings of Glacier View Meadows, to include the area west of Eiger Road to Rams Horn Mountain Road and north from the Mount Blanc Guardian Peak area to the north end of Mount Everest Drive. This additional evacuation was driven by increased spot fire activity. This was in addition to the evacuations of the Glacier View Meadows 12th filing. The remaining portions of Glacier View Meadows remains on pre-evacuation alert to be prepared to leave if necessary.

Of the nearly 3,000 notifications sent out for evacuations, 1,187 have been lifted.

Fire officials issued an all-clear for County Road 29C and McMurry Ranch Road. In addition, an all-clear was issued for the area of Big Bear Road, Bar D Ranch Road, south on the Buckhorn Road to the junction of the Masonville Road, northwest to include Alfalfa Way, Buckhorn Ridge Way and Running Brook Lane. Residents in these areas may return to their homes.

Officials do not anticipate reopening Cloudy Pass, Mill Canyon or Soldier Canyon today. These areas are still being evaluated and more information may be known tomorrow.

GOVERNOR BANS OPEN FIRES

In an Executive Order, Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper banned open fires and the private use of fireworks statewide because of very dry conditions and high fire danger. The Order was made, in part, because “Larimer County Commissioners have requested a fireworks ban in parts of Northern Colorado where extreme fire danger exists. This ban covers campfires, except in permanent pits; charcoal grills, except on private property; and amateur fireworks. Professional fireworks displays and agricultural burns must be approved by local sheriffs.

OZONE ACTION DAY ALERT AND SMOKE ADVISORY

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment and the Regional Air Quality Council issued an OZONE ACTION DAY ALERT yesterday. A WILDFIRE SMOKE HEALTH ADVISORY is also in effect for areas north northwest to north northeast of the High Park Fire to the Wyoming state line and south southeast along the Front Range to Boulder and as far east as Greeley. Cities in this area include but not limited to Poudre Park, Livermore, Ft Collins, Longmont, Loveland, Boulder, and Greeley. This Multiple Pollutants Action Day Alert will remain in effect until at least 4 p.m. today (Friday 6/15).

Structures damaged:

Structure protection continues to be a top priority as well as ensuring we do not lose the lines we have already built.

Officials are informing homeowners about fire damage as it becomes available and the priority will be getting this information to residents first.  To date, 31 homeowners from the Stratton Park, Pine Acres and parts of Poudre Canyon have been notified that their homes have been destroyed.

An additional 17 homes in the Poudre Canyon from Stove Prairie to the mouth of the canyon have also been destroyed.  The assessment is still underway and this number will continue to grow.

Evaluations continue of the structures that have been damaged or destroyed in Rist Canyon, Paradise Park, Stove Prairie, Poudre Park, Old Flowers, Stratton Park, Kings Canyon, Cloudy Pass, Soldier Canyon and Mill Canyon.  Firefighters will continue to evaluate the area subdivision by subdivision.

There are still many unburned areas within the perimeter of the fire, so evacuated residents should not assume their homes are damaged or destroyed.

The assessment and recovery team continues their efforts to identify specific addresses of damaged or destroyed properties.

Following the daily 3:00 citizen briefing, residents who live in areas where property damage has been confirmed can call 970-619-4086 to find out the status of their home.  This phone line will be staffed from 8:00 a.m. from 5:00 p.m.

Fire Behavior:

Interior and west side of the fire are still active.  Southeast and Northeast corners are mopping up and the line in those areas are holding.  The Poudre Canyon area was less active than in previous days.

The fire continues to push west into heavy beetle killed fuels; however, fire behavior on the western section of the fire was moderated by a brief rain shower.

Soldier and Mill Canyon as well as Redstone Canyon and Buckstone Heights remain closed due to hot spots and fire activity in the area.  Buckhorn Road also remains closed to Masonville.

A new small 60-100 acre spot fire today was caused by a thunderstorm with strong downdrafts that parked over SW corner of fire.  This caused an increase of fire behavior over western perimeter, which launched embers from torching trees into the wind, which then started the spot fire.

Road Checkpoints:

• CR 38E/CR 27 -                                   Restricted access, residents only, credentials required
• CR 38E/CR 25E (Redstone Canyon) - No access
• CR 38E/CR 23 -                                   No access
• CR 23/Lodgepole -                             No access
• CR 27E/Cr 52E -                                  No access
• CR 52E/Brianna Lane -                      No access
• Hwy 287/Hwy 14/CR 29C -                Restricted access
• Hwy 14/Pingree Park Road (63E)        No access
• Highway 287 is open.

Resources on scene:

• 1,300 ground and engine crews are fighting the fire.  More resources are still expected.
• 5 SEATS (Single Engine Air Tankers)
• 4 type 3 helicopters
• 3 type 2 helicopters
• 4 type 1 helicopters
• Air Attack control plane
• Lead plane
• 3 heavy air tankers (there are only 9 available in the nation)

Cause of fire:

Lightning has been confirmed as the cause of the fire.

More information can be found at:

Larimer County will open the High Park Fire Disaster Recovery Center at 7:00 a.m. starting Friday, June 15, at Johnson Hall on the Colorado State University Campus.  The center will be open Mon-Fri from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.  This center will remain open for the next 3-4 weeks to help residents affected by the High Park Fire.  For more information about the Disaster Recovery Center and the High Park Fire, visit our website at www.larimer.org/highparkfire.

Public information is available at the Larimer County Emergency Information line at 970-498-5500 where Information Officers are answering the phone, and at www.larimer.org or on Twitter @larimersheriff, or Inciweb at http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2904/.