Fires are burning out west

[rgrx1276]

I know everyone coming out for the bow/muzzle seasons should be getting pretty antsy, just keep this info handy. Your unit could be on fire, have a plan for an alternate.

It’s not bad yet, the only big one going is in 30/31 in W Colorado. But it is very dry, I’m sure more will pop up unless we get some rain. The Pine gulch fire went from 1300 to 11k acres overnight.



And make sure your campfire is out when you leave camp. I had some locals camped near me last year. Noticed they had left, but didn’t pay any attention to their site. Two days later I’m in camp mid day and smelled smoke. I hadn’t had a fire lately, and didn’t have anybody camping nearby. Put my nose into the smell and followed it to the abandoned camp. They had kicked a little dirt over their fire pit, of course it didn’t work. Their fire had gotten into the ground duff and was smoldering a good 10’ from the pit, 6” underground. Took an hour to get water and get it out.

this is a resource that gets updated all the time, use it often before you arrive.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/

Thank you for the website... Headed to NM in 46 days for a 3 week elk hunt and was concerned about the fires.. Luckily my area hasn't been hit-yet..

 

[Sled]

It boggles my mind how the entire Uintas range hasn't burnt yet. Every time I go up there, I see fires left burning at night when people go to sleep. Not smoldering.... Active flames!!! And so many have just left their fire entirely without doing anything to it.

Typically more rainfall, cooler temps and higher RH. The added deadfall from beetle kill helps keep the fires going longer. The discontinuous fuels and rockbands help contain the small fires like the Provo falls. Also the Aspen bands slow things down.

With regard to campfires, the ones you see are likely ones that have been used for years and as a result, better at containing themselves since they've been constructed well and better maintained.

 

[11boo]

The Pine gulch fire is rolling hard now With no end in sight till we get some rain, which is not seen in the forecast.

There will be more fires, so pay attention to any resources for news on your units.

 

[Bucky]

Feel bad for all ranchers and everyone out there. had some great success in the area the fire is rolling through now. feel bad for those who were going to hunt there this year.. Will be better in the future in guess. 12% humidity is crazy.. hopefully the rains come and help out.

 

[bloominonion]

The fire's up to almost 30k acres now. It has the air quality out there in the tank. I was scouting east of there and the air was bad enough I left a day early. My tent was covered in ash from what blew though overnight. If some embers get picked up, it would take off in a heartbeat. I spoke with a rancher in the area and he said its the worst drought he's seen in 25 years... all the dirt was like moon dust on south facing slopes...

 

[Bucky]

Brutal! 5 day forecast doesn't look very forgiving either... rain

 

[WTFJohn]

I-70 is closed E & W through Glenwood Springs Canyon, along with Coffee Pot Rd and associated areas of the Flat Tops. More info in text below & at link. Be working on your alternate plans, Colorado (& a lot of the west in general) is bone-dry.

Monday about 60 firefighters and numerous aircraft responded to the 1,300-acre Grizzly Creek Fire in Glenwood Canyon near the Grizzly Creek rest area, about five miles east of Glenwood Springs.

The cause of the fire is under investigation. There are no immediate threats to structures and no evacuations are in place.

Most of the firefighting effort Monday afternoon took place from the air because the rugged terrain and extreme fire behavior. This afternoon the air attack included two VLATs (very large air tankers), five LATs (large air tankers), five helicopters, and two SEATs (single engine air tankers).

Interstate 70 is closed in both directions from Exit 116 (Glenwood Springs) to Exit 140 (Gypsum); alternate routes are advised. The highway will be reopened when it is safe to do so. For Colorado Department of Transportation updates please visit: www.COTRIP.org

The Forest Service is closing Coffee Pot Road outside of Dotsero and associated areas of the Flattops, as well as Hanging Lake. A map and more information about the closure will be posted tomorrow.

| InciWeb

Incidents Page of for the Inciweb site.

inciweb.nwcg.gov

 

[orionthehunter1]

That fire could burn until the snow flies. Crazy how dry it is around the state

 

[mmac]

As an ex wildland firefighter, have to agree with the comments about no need for a fire. It is hard to be safe with a camp fire and be an effective elk hunter unless someone is staying in camp to watch it. The fire from the night before is no where near out unless you drowned it and stirred the water in, effectively turning it over. So even if you don't have one in the morning, it isn't wise. Pack a small lantern if you need light, and a jetboil or other stove. Please be safe out there....

 

[timekiller13]

I have been keeping a close eye on those fires, especially the Pine Gulch one, since that is the general area that I will be heading to elk hunt for 1st rifle. Of course, I am thinking about how it could affect the elk hunting, hunting pressure and all that, but right now I just pray for the safety of those who are fighting the fire and for the well-being of those individuals whose lives are being altered right now.

 

[CMF]

Any online resources for knowing the status of the burn bans? Colorado specifically is what I'm interested in, mainly in case we end up camping at the truck. This will be our second year hunting out west, but we never had a fire while backpacking in NM last year. We were just too tired and worried about having to get it out while trying to conserve water.

I think a lot of the fires left burning are just from ignorance, most likely from people out east or somewhere the forest fire risk aren't like you have out west. We saw the results of a massive fire where we hunted last year, so the potential was quite clear. Out east the risks are not the same. Here in the southeast with the weather we have, we hardly ever put our fires out. If there's not a burn ban in affect, than its usually too wet for anything around to burn. We don't have the winds like out west either.

 

[bloominonion]

Any online resources for knowing the status of the burn bans? Colorado specifically is what I'm interested in, mainly in case we end up camping at the truck. This will be our second year hunting out west, but we never had a fire while backpacking in NM last year. We were just too tired and worried about having to get it out while trying to conserve water.

I think a lot of the fires left burning are just from ignorance, most likely from people out east or somewhere the forest fire risk aren't like you have out west. We saw the results of a massive fire where we hunted last year, so the potential was quite clear. Out east the risks are not the same. Here in the southeast with the weather we have, we hardly ever put our fires out. If there's not a burn ban in affect, than its usually too wet for anything around to burn. We don't have the winds like out west either.

Generally assume all of Colorado is under a burn ban right now. Every place I've seen in the past couple of months has one. It looks like they're a hair lighter, but most the state has bans. http://www.coemergency.com/p/fire-bans-danger.html

 

[WTFJohn]

Any online resources for knowing the status of the burn bans? Colorado specifically is what I'm interested in, mainly in case we end up camping at the truck. This will be our second year hunting out west, but we never had a fire while backpacking in NM last year. We were just too tired and worried about having to get it out while trying to conserve water.

I think a lot of the fires left burning are just from ignorance, most likely from people out east or somewhere the forest fire risk aren't like you have out west. We saw the results of a massive fire where we hunted last year, so the potential was quite clear. Out east the risks are not the same. Here in the southeast with the weather we have, we hardly ever put our fires out. If there's not a burn ban in affect, than its usually too wet for anything around to burn. We don't have the winds like out west either.

Fire Restrictions

Overview Information on fire restrictions and bans can change rapidly. The most current information can and should be obtained from your lo...

www.coemergency.com

I posted this link earlier in the thread; it will have some of the info but the best & most reliable will be to reach out to the local county sheriff department/USFS office. Just assume at this point you won't have a fire, then if you can it'll be a nice surprise.

Here is a picture of the Grizzly Creek fire from yesterday afternoon (it started yesterday Aug 10) and a picture from inciweb showing the approximate boundaries as of last night (~1,300 acres according to inciweb 11 hrs ago). Here is a video taken yesterday in the canyon. For reference, the bottom of the canyon there is ~5,800 ft and the top is ~9,000 ft.

 

[NorthernHunter]

This is how things go sideways in a hurry

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

I have never been able to figure out why people think that is ok. Just up and leave with a blazing fire going. At least make an attempt.

 

[mikem24]

right now kansas feel like it could self combust

 

[Phaseolus]

We had a north wind most of the night and air quality really sucks here 16 miles north of the fire. I took this picture out getting exercise on the Grand Mesa Slopes two days ago.

 

[ccoffey]

Pro tip: Even if you've spent all summer scouting an area, have a backup spot handy. Seems like a no brainer now, but one of my first seasons hunting, an area that I invested a lot of time into went up in flames opening week and wasn't accessable the until the end of bow season.

And pay attention to the fire bans, don't be one of those people that disregard them.

 

[11boo]

Now I 70 is closed due to a new fire near Glenwood springs. Damn.

 

[Olsolitaire1]

Pine Gulch fire last evening from my home south of GJ, it really took off again.

Yes it is dry out here this year, low humidify ( as low as 7%) high temps (upper 90's & 100's) and very windy just suck the moisture out of everything. Dog took a dump on the gravel driveway, waited about 45 min's and it was dry easy to scoop up. Had to share Don't see any way out of this by the end of the month and Sept. Just don't have any camp fires of any size please, watch were you park a hot vehicle, be ready to bug out if need be. It just amazes me to see just last weekend in areas in the mnts. with fire bans people still had fires in camps. One area I was in 4 days before in very heavy rains & hail most of the weekend, came back to hot dusty at 10K. Keep up dated by using the links that have been posted.

| InciWeb

Incidents Page of for the Inciweb site.

inciweb.nwcg.gov

 

[11boo]

This is the new one threatening the flattops.