Expanding Lake Fork Elk Creek Wildfire Approaches Town of Lake City

A fast-moving wildfire, which began in Uncompahgre Wilderness Area north of Lake City due to an apparent lightning strike last Thursday, July 9, has vastly expanded resulting in mandatory evacuations of lower Lake Fork River residents near the Hinsdale-Gunnison County boundary on Wednesday afternoon this week.
Up through Tuesday this week, the extent of the fire was estimated at slightly more than 500 acres, although winds at mid-week have increased the burned acreage upward to an estimated 1,980 acres with zero percent containment as of Thursday morning, July 16. Resources on the ground and air as of Thursday morning are 223 personnel, six helicopters, three hand crews, and 22 engines.
Lake City and Lake Fork Valley residents are in general on edge because of the fire which in addition to expansion from continued drought and gusty winds this week, has produced dense smoke creating some of the worst air quality in the entire state.
Mandatory lower Lake Fork evacuations on

WandreyWednesday, July 15, impacted Jeff Moler at the old Ryan Ranch and his immediate neighbors, Alena and Randy Haskell, and — more distantly — Tom and Jeannie Russell at Russellville, Scott and Becky Williams and at the County border, Rich Landry.
Sky Ranch at Ute Trail, just across the county line in Gunnison County, voluntarily evacuated last Sunday In addition to Gunnison, an evacuation center has been established at the Armory in Lake City.
The Lake Fork Valley has been separated into adjoining evacuation zones extending southward up valley from the County line. In addition to Zones 002 and 005 west of Highway 149 and extending north from the County line to the Independence Gulch Trailhead, which already been evacuated, Zone E006 next up the valley was in “Set Status” as of Wednesday afternoon with residents along Highway 149 to the south on Independence Gulch were asked to be ready to evacuate at a moment’s notice.
The remainder of upstream evacuation units, including Town of Lake City and Wade’s Addition within Unit HNS-E016, remain in the “Ready/Green” category with residents urged to pack a “go kit” with medications, documents and other essentials, prepare pet and livestock plans, clear defensible space and secure property, and “stay alert to official updates.”
Due to heavy smoke and resulting particulates, Lake Fork Valley air quality reached its nadir on Wednesday this week — highest in the entire state — with an in-the-red 170 “unhealthy” rating.
By comparison to the 170 rating Wednesday based on air testing at Silver Thread Public Health in Lake City, neighboring communities were in the “moderate/acceptable” range air quality 50 to 100 yellow rating, Ouray, for instance at 66, Silverton 55, Creede 68, and Gunnison 60.
Lake City air conditions ameliorated to 90 — “moderate” on the health gauge — as of Thursday morning, in part owning to a welcome .09” rainfall which occurred late Wednesday afternoon. According to weather watcher Phillip Virden, “hopefully twice that amount” of rainfall is looked for on Thursday.
Smoke-filled air conditions were largely the result of nearby Elk Creek Wildfire but also due to the Gold Mountain Fire which has grown to 37,734 acres — 11 percent contained as of Thursday morning — primarily in adjacent Ouray County but also fringing into the extreme northwest corner of Hinsdale County on the West Fork of the Cimarron River and up into southwest Gunnison County at Silver Jack Reservoir.
Gold Mountain Wildfire’s first fatality was confirmed earlier this week when a firefighting helicopter overturned in Silver Jack Reservoir, drowning its pilot, 56-year-old British Columbia native Nicholas Dale.
Dale’s Type I helicopter had been utilized on the Elk Wildfire the day prior to the fatal mishap, the death, according to firefighting officials, “highlighting the risk to protect public lands and private infrastructure.”
In advance of intensifying fire danger in Lake City, some local residents began transferring irreplaceable files and heirlooms to Gunnison last Sunday and, with elevated “ready, set, go” evacuation recommendations on Wednesday, Rebecca Kaminski calmly coordinated transfer of the family’s prize-winning livestock herd — goats, sheep, rabbits, etc. — from their San Juan Hills home north of town to stalls at Gunnison County Fairgrounds.
In the wake of the fire and occasional choking-thick smoke in town, SILVER WORLD interrogated both Lake City Fire Chief Justin Thompson and Hinsdale County Search & Rescue’s Harry MacKendrick, latter briefly explaining that S & R is on standby as needed in the event a firefighter requires assistance.
S & R, according to MacKendrick is also available in instances where trailhead road closures such as Nellie Creek and Crystal/Larson are needed.
“At the discretion of Hinsdale County Sheriff, Hinsdale Search & Rescue is here if you need us,” says MacKendrick, adding, “hopefully nothing is needed.”
Lake City Fire Chief Justin Thompson is similarly upbeat, telling newspaper he and local firefighters continue to work closely with other agencies and are staying apprised of the wildfire situation at all times.
While on standby, local firefighters continue to prepare with emphasis on response and protocols, “our role,” says the Fire Chief, “being structure protection and accessibility.”
Thompson adds a shout out to several local fire volunteers, among these the fire department’s R.E. Hall and Rick Hernandez for “tremendous efforts” connecting with the incoming fire crews.
Thompson also credits the fire department’s Matt Jones, Mike Carson, and Sam Fyler who, while in the midst of a house remodel project near the County line with Gunnison, dropped everything to mitigate fire risk by limbing trees around the home, utilizing a wood chipper for fire mitigation both at the County line and also north of Lake City in San Juan Ranch Estates.
WORLD also gently queried calmly frenetic Curtis Rasmusson, multi-decade Wyoming resident who is OPS for the Wyoming Type III Incident Management Team which is managing wildfire fighting efforts in and around Elk Creek prior to transfer, due to complexity of the wildfire, to Northwest Complex Incident Management Team at 6:30 p.m. Thursday. The transfer brings additional personnel, planning capacity, and operational support assisting with incident safety and effectiveness.
According to Rasmusson, the majority of the wood fuels now being consumed on upwards of 2,000 wilderness acres north of Lake City is the result of between 60 and 70 percent standing and fallen beetle-killed spruce trees.
Gusty wind aggravates the situation, resulting in dead standing conifers which are instantaneously engulfed or “torched,” sparks from the burning trees resulting in “spotting” as wind-borne sparks are carried upwards of a half mile outside the fire zone to ignite other trees.
As of earlier this week, the wildfire was restricted

to U.S. Forest wilderness lands to the west of State Highway 149 and — again as of Monday and prior to gusty winds later in the week — was “little by little” simultaneously growing to the east and south.
Fire engines and patrols continue to closely monitor Highway 149 which, in addition to being the region’s principal transportation corridor, is interspersed with private inholding structural groups.
Wide-ranging analysis of conditions has continued at the lower end of County Road 20 on Henson Creek, although fire activity in that region to the south of the wildfire is not anticipated.
On Monday, Rasmussen said sprinklers and hoses are on order and advised highway corridor residents not to be concerned to see fire apparatus and crews show up in their driveways. He inferred that they’re not being nosey but instead are “assessing fire danger” to protect homes.
With a rotating staff of between 250 and 300 firefighters assigned to the fire from throughout Colorado, Idaho, and Wyoming, and as far distant as Florida and Alaska, the fire fighting arsenal consists of seasoned hand crew firefighters on the ground whose role due to the extreme geography of the region is primarily to monitor the fire, as well as defensively maintain a fire line near the now-closed Alpine Plateau Road at the Hinsdale-Gunnison County border.
Rasmussen references the region’s extremely steep and rugged terrain for the fact incident commanders for the on-the-ground crews “don’t feel comfortable” battling the fire directly.”
In addition to a fire line confining the wildfire from spreading north into a sensitive area with important communications infrastructure, Elk Wildfire personnel are coordinating with their counterparts at Gold Mountain and a plethora of other Colorado wildfires — including expanding wildfires in northern Colorado in the vicinity of Steamboat Springs and Kremmling for use of a limited number of airborne fire fighting equipment, including air tankers, “scoopers” and helicopters ferrying water to douse the flames from lower Lake Fork Ranch ponds, and strategic aircraft dropping flame retardent.
A Fort Collins native who previously lived at Hot Sulphur Springs, Colorado, Rasmussem has head fire operations in Wyoming the past quarter century. His most recent expertise with wildfire was at Cottonwood in Nebraska earlier this spring and, while living in Colorado, he assisted in wildfire coordination for more than 20 fires, including Hayden in 2000, Boulder Canyon, and Fort Collins.
At Monday afternoon’s public information meeting, Rasmussen began his remarks by surveying the packed audience, crediting Lake City for its compassion and comparing the community to “tight knit” towns he has lived in in Wyoming.
Monday afternoon’s public information meeting was concluded by Agency Administrator Andy Keller from Paonia who predicted “no quick ending” for the Elk Wildfire, “it’s going to be a long haul” with predicted smoke until moisture and cooler temperatures arrive.