Return of dry conditions expands wildfire, resident subdivisions to north of Lake City urged evacuation preparedness…
After remaining essentially static last week following successive days of steady moisture, the stubborn Elk Wildfire 6.5 miles north of Lake City has significantly enlarged this week as the result of days of sunny, windy, warm temperatures.
For days last week and through Tuesday morning this week, the size of the wildfire hovered at 2,406 acres in rugged terrain in Uncompahgre Wilderness to the west of State Highway 149.
With continued tinder dry conditions and no rain, combined with at-times gusty wind with the potential to funnel the flames uphill, the wildfire continued 47 percent contained within rectangular firelines but on Tuesday, August 4, expanded from 2,406 acres at 8:23 a.m. to 2,785.3 acres burned, 44 percent contained, as of 5:43 p.m. and then on Wednesday, August 5, was variously described as between 40 and 44 percent contained as burned acreage incrementally advanced from 2,785.3 acres at 8:44 a.m. to 3,527.2 acres as of 7:58 p.m.
Billowing columns of smoke at times drifting toward Cannibal Plateau proved ominous fascination to Lake City residents who drove northward to higher ground for daytime observation points, San Juan Ranch Estates across from San Juan Hills Subdivision a popular viewing point for both daytime smoke and glowing nighttime embers indicating “hotspots” which dappled the sides of Larson Creek.
At the request of Hinsdale County Sheriff Denim Starnes, Hinsdale Search & Rescue personnel monitored the wildfire throughout the night Tuesday, August 4, to Wednesday, August 5, and again intermittently throughout Wednesday night.
Although in photographs seemingly in close proximity to populated north Lake City subdivisions such as San Juan Hills, Sheriff Starns on Wednesday night — calmly gazing out toward the ridge fireline — explained the vast amount of country which lies between the upper bowls of Larson Creek, where the fires are now burning, and Lake City.
Vol. 49, No. 19 Friday, August 7, 2026 Lake City, Hinsdale County, Colorado 81235 U.S.P.S. No. 436-630
As of mid-week this week, the Elk fire remains within the Forest Service’s Uncompahgre Wilderness boundaries, although it is approaching the boundary with privately-owned Valley View Ranch at Larson Creek.
Simultaneous with increase of the wildland blaze, Hinsdale County Sheriff’s Dept. announced an uptick in evacuation preparedness advisories from the previous green “get ready” to (yellow) “get set”
Onlookers including Sheriff and Undersheriff Starnes and Kaminski gathered at a San Juan Ranch Estates vantage point early evening Tuesday and again on Wednesday to view billowing plumes of smoke and occasional flashes of flame as the Elk Creek Wildfire advanced into Larson Creek north of Lake City, San Juan Hills Subdivision shown foreground.
Nighttime view from the same perspective— lights from San Juan Hills foreground, glowing Elk Fire on the Larson Creek ridgeline background — courtesy Yolie Brown.
evacuation at a moment’s notice for residents to the west of Highway 149 from Independence Gulch Trailhead in Lake Fork Canyon north to the county line (HNS-E005), HNS-E006 east of Highway 149 Valley View Ranch to county line and, closest to home, HNS-003, which is now designated 003A both sides of Highway 149 at Valley View Ranch, and 003B to the immediate north of Lake City west of Highway 149 from the Country Store north including the west side of Pete’s Lake, Ocean Wave Drive, and northward encompassing Riverside Estates, San Juan Springs and San Juan Hills subdivisions. Town of Lake City and areas immediately adjacent to the west, including San Juan Ranch Estates, are outside the yellow “get set” evacuation preparedness zones.
The now familiar evacuation preparedness mantra in the “get set” yellow zones (HNS-E002, HNS-E005, HNS-E006, and HNS-E003) A and B:
- If you need additional time to evacuate, consider starting that process now Be ready to leave at a moment’s notice
- Alert family, neighbors and elderly
- Stay updated on roads, weather and fire conditions.
- Contact Silver Thread Public Health or Lake City Medical Center if you need assistance.
- Pre-stage essential belongings
- Make preparations inside and outside your home
*Prepare to evacuate if the if the situation escalates - Consider evacuating those with mobility issues, pets and livestock
SILVER WORLD interviewed Matt Weakland, Operations Section Chief Trainee with Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1, on Thursday morning this week.
Rocky Mountain Complex Team, based out of a reduced-size operations camp (WORLD, July 24) on the lower Lake Fork Whinnery Ranch, completes 14-day management of the fire at 6 p.m. Saturday, August 8, and will be replaced by counterparts Type 3 Team Colorado.
Personnel on the fire under both management teams remains roughly static at 53 individuals including the addition of two 10-person suppression modules, one a wildfire module with specialized fire fighting equipment for remote work. The modules will patrol the lower Lake Fork Highway 149 corridor day and night in what is termed the Alpha Zone (Alpine Plateau Road where an excavator is being used to construct water bars, the zone extending southward along the Highway 149 corridor to Lake City), focused in part “cooling down’ the eastern fire line and around three remote ridgeline structures which will be doused with water and fire retardent.
Fire retardent slows fire growth, as does the water, although the latter requires the presence of ground personnel for maximum effectiveness.
Equipment assigned to the fire has increased to 13 engines, some of which have been indefinitely dispatched here from the Ouray County Gold Mountain Fire.
Water handling equipment — hoses, sprinklers, and holding tanks called ‘pumpkins’ which was removed along Highway 149 during rainy weather last week, has been restaged at Whinnery Ranch for use as needed.
New equipment received late this week also includes a roter wing drone module with infrared capabilities, operated by two to three people, which will be used for real time aerial visuals of the fire and, at night, infrared to detect hot spots on the forest surface.
Graphic of fire footprint, above, illustrates zones to the north of Lake City which are in preparedness evacuation mode.
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