A predictable late August drop in temperatures combined with control and contingency firelines holding strong, and prevailing cloudy conditions with occasional rain, the latter “just enough to influence operations but not enough to conclude them,” according to most recent wildfire updates, has resulted in a further lessening of Elk Wildfire evacuation preparedness restrictions.
Also timely in light of looming big game archery season which begins next Wednesday, September 2, and a congenial meeting earlier this week between fire officials and three local outfitters earlier this week, Bureau of Land Management on Monday announced an immediate reduction in public lands adjacent to the Elk Fire which are off-limits to the public.
Firefighters and support staff at well-organized fire camp at the lower Lake Fork Whinnery Ranch are briefed each morning at 7 a.m., Tuesday morning’s update including news that up to that day, total cost of the Elk Wildfire now stands at $26,304,335 dating from lightning strike start on July 9 and continuing to present.
As previously reported, it is commonly understood that the fire will continue to burn and smolder, particularly within wilderness lands to the west and some areas to the west of the Highway 149 corridor north of Lake City, until snow conditions later this fall.
A succession of well-equipped 14-day management teams have overseen fire fighting operations since start of the wildfire, Wyoming Type 3 Team 2 with Karsten Malik and Geoffry Harrison taking over from retiring Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 2 effective 7 p.m. last Saturday, August 22.
Fire staff at Tuesday’s briefing were reminded “firefighter safety is predominate,” and, as an additional precaution, we’re reminded that school has resumed in Lake City and engine drivers and fire staff should drive accordingly, “keep your eye out for students.”
At Tuesday’s briefing, it was reported unmanned infrared drones continue to fly at night searching out hotspots, the result being pockets of heat which were identified in the southern portion of the fire footprint in Division G. Crews were also out on Tuesday evaluating access to remote Division G locations and possible helicopter equipment drop-off locations.
As of Wednesday under Wyoming Team 2, 146 personnel are assigned to the fire which has continues to burn within 7,257 acres and is 33 percent contained.
Forest Service Recreation Staff Officer Matt Quinn, who serves as Resource Advisor on the Elk fire, told firefighters Tuesday morning that at Monday’s outfitters’ meeting, concern was expressed in terms of the environment and wildlife. Referring to local outfitters, Quinn said “they really care and thanked us for being here.”
At the outfitters’ meeting, questions were posed on traditionally popular hunting areas such as Independence Gulch, Bill Hare Gulch, and Larson Creek, all of which remain closed due to the fire’s proximity. The concensus at the meeting, however, is that lots of public lands in the vicinity of Lake City, particularly east of the Lake Fork such as Powderhorn Wilderness extending to the Cebolla, remain open and unfettered by fire restrictions.
To the southwest of Lake City, certain portions of BLM lands which were formerly closed due to their proximity to the Elk Wildfire have now reopened effective 5 p.m. Monday, August 24: off north Henson, the trailhead to both Wetterhorn and Matterhorn Peaks, including hiking trails on both peaks, are now open, together with closures which have now been removed on public lands between the Nellie Creek Road and Ridge Stock Driveway, Mary Alice Creek and Saddle Trail, and, closer to Ouray County’s Gold Mountain Fire, public lands to the west of Little Cimaron Basin.
Forest Service lands west of Matterhorn and Wetterhorn Peaks remain closed due to their proximity to the Gold Mountain Fire. A more detailed mapping of both closed and now open public land adjacent to both the Elk and Gold Mountain fires is illustrated on page 3 this week’s issue, below.
Citing a range of considerations which includes fire behavior, weather, and continuing stability with ongoing maintenance of control and contingency firelines both to the immediate north of Lake City and near the Hinsdale-Gunnison county line adjacent to Highway 149, Hinsdale County Sheriff Denim Starnes at 9 a.m. Tuesday, August 25, announced a significant lessening in evacuation guidelines affecting both Lake City and lower Lake Fork residents.
Since the wildfire’s start on July 9, the sole region now under the yellow/“get set” evacuation requirements is unit HNS-002 on lands to the west and immediately surrounding the Elk Fire; requirements of residents to the west of Highway 149, HNS-003A and HNS-005, San Juan Springs and San Juan Hills Subdivisions extending west of Highway 149 extending north to the county line, have now dropped from yellow/“get set” to evacuate to the calmer green “get ready” category.
Areas of Lake City and immediately adjacent which formerly were green/“get ready” are now, effective Tuesday morning, under no evacuation preparedness order, including Town of Lake City (HNS-0014), Ball Flats south to Crooke Falls (HNS-0016), Wade’s Addition (HNS-0013), areas west of town off Henson Creek (HNS-0012), Riverside Estates (HNS-003B, and San Juan Ranch Estates and Lake City Heights (HNS-004).
In his reduction announcement which was pre-recorded and telephoned to residents throughout town on Tuesday, Sheriff’s Office urged residents to “remain engaged and alert to fire and weather conditions.”
Information Officers Ranae Pape and Isabel English, latter under normal conditions stationed as Support Services Specialist at the Gunnison Forest Service headquarters, graciously entertained SILVER WORLD staff at fire camp on Tuesday morning, in the process reintroducing Gunnison Forest Service-based Deputy District Ranger Aaron Drendel who works with Incident Management and duties back at the Gunnison office which include guides and outfitters, and range priorities.
Also introduced in succession were Cory George, Clint Mrnak, and Jonathan Sloan, Division Bravo Operations Section, with the update that there are now two principal fire divisions for the Elk Fire, Bravo (formerly Alpha) northward at the Hinsdale-Gunnison County Line, and, closer to home, Division G (for Golf) which includes areas to the north, northwest of Lake City.
George hails from Rawlings, Wyoming where he specializes in the Wildland Fire Service, and on the Elk Fire is Task Force Trainee. Most recently, he assisted with the 72 Bench Fire at Rawlings home unit, which burned ponderosa pine.
Mrnak, Situation Leader on the Elk Fire from Lewistown, Montana, was quizzed on the definition of numbered drop points which are visible to motorists along Highway 149.
Mrnak estimates there are between 10 and 15 specific drops points along the Highway 149 corridor between Lake City and the county line, each of which is utilized as an informal meeting area for firefighters and pertinent firefighting equipment such as hose lay packs and sundry equipment which might include chainsaw parts, different size hoses and fitting, “and just about anything needed for fire fighting.
Mrnak, together with George and Sloan, were questioned on specifics of firefighters’ manual excavation and maintenance of Elk Fire firelines which now proliferate throughout the periphery of the wildfire.
The men patiently explain that the contiguous location of firelines is based on natural terrain such as open grassy areas, geologic barriers such as scree slopes, cliffs, and etc., and pre-existing trails and roads, anything which might serve as a fire barrier.
In constructing a 1’ to 1-1/2’ handline, for instance, through 6” tall combustible grass, fire fighters utilize a variety of trenching tools such as Pulaski, Combi (combination pick at one end and shovel which can be tilted to 90-degrees), hoes, and on rare occasion Mcleods, which are more suited to ground level leaf accumulation.
The goal with handlines is to entirely remove vegetation down to bare earth with the goal of stopping a creeping fire which may be working its way through light fuels such as grass and brush. “The value of the work” in terms of ground fires, Cory George reiterates, “is taking away fuel which might otherwise burn.”
In addition to the handlines and as a further precaution,
The degree of depth and width of handlines is entirely based on terrain and predominate vegetation, a variant of handline being checkline which is perhaps 8” wide in forested areas.
On the other end of the fireline scale, and as detailed in last week’s WORLD, bulldozers are used in constructing more formidable firebreaks with width varying according to the size of the bulldozer blade or, in some instances, multiple swaths which are made added width.
In close but safe proximity to an active fire, a further variant to the handlines is “cold trail” which firefighters are literally on their hands an knees searching through recently burned soil in search of hot spots.
Graphically, Mrnk likens cold trail to cake batter which remains essentially intact despite being doused with water. The trick, according to Mrck in relation to either dough or recently burned ground, is to manually stir up the material and, in the case of recently burned vegetation, “put out the heat.”
Also hands on, firefighters encountering a smoldering log in the process of cold trail will literally scrape off the burned detris, removing any hot spots and cooling the surface with an application of dirt.
As a direct example of the value of handlines, George cites three remote lower Lake Fork cabins which were threatened by the Elk Fires. At one of the cabins, the wildfire had burned to within 50’ of the structure. Fire conditions were stabilized, however, as crews used hand tool to install encircling firelines around each of the structures.
As a further precaution, 100’ to 150’ feet of cold trail was also constructed in vicinity of the three structures.
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