Monday, July 3, 2017

Lightner Creek Fire Update July 3, 2017 - 8:15 a.m.




Lightner Creek Fire Update 
July 3, 2017 - 8:00 a.m. 

Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black 
Shane Greer, Incident Commander 

Information Center: (970) 335-8084 
Hours of Operation: 7 a.m. - 9 p.m. 

This will be the final update for the Lightner Creek Fire from Rocky Mountain Team Black 

Current Situation: The Lightner Creek Fire is now 95 percent contained due to the continued hard work of the firefighters. The current fire size is 412 acres, however this increase from what was previously reported is due to more accurate mapping, and not an increase in perimeter growth. 
On Sunday, all remaining residents that had been evacuated were allowed to return home. The roads will remain closed to the public, and only residents with Rapid Tag cards issued from the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office will be allowed in the area. Residents can expect to continue to see firefighting resources in their community. 

On Monday, firefighters will patrol the fire’s perimeter and perform any suppression repair that is necessary. Smoke may continue to be visible at times, but is well within the controlled edge of the containment line. Excess resources will continue to be released from the fire as they complete their work. 

With the fire nearly at full containment, Rocky Mountain Team Black will transition management of the fire back to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control and the Bureau of Land Management on Tuesday morning. A type 3 incident management organization – consisting of an incident commander, one engine, and one helicopter - will continue to patrol the fire as necessary. 

Weather: The forecast calls for gusty west, northwest winds with a slight chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Winds are expected to be 10 to 15 mph with gusts to 20 mph. Relative humidity is expected to increase slowly through the week. 

Safety: Despite the success in containing the Lightner Creek Fire, the potential for another wildfire remains high due to dry vegetation, high temperatures, and low relative humidity. Fire officials urge homeowners living in the wildland urban interface to create defensible space around their home. Visit www.southwestcoloradofires.org/ for more information about becoming a fire adapted community. 

Closures: All recreation trails in the “Test Tracks” west of downtown Durango remain closed; including Hogsback, Leyden and Hidden Valley trails. The Bureau of Land Management and Colorado Parks and Wildlife have closures in place on public lands east of County Road 208. U.S. Forest Service trails in the Dry Fork area leaving the Colorado Trail into the above referenced closure are marked with signs indicating the fire closures in the Perins Peak area. 

Fire Restrictions: Several Fire Restrictions are in place in the area. Please visit http://www.coemergency.com/p/fire-bans-danger.html for a complete listing of fire restrictions in Colorado. 

Lightner Creek Fire 
Start Date: June 28 
InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5298/ 
Location: 4.25 miles WNW of Durango 
Email: lightnercreekfireinfo@gmail.com 
Size: 412 acres 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BLMMontroseFireUnit/ 
Percent Contained: 95 
Twitter: #lightnercreekfire 
Cause: Structure; spread to wildland 


### 

No comments:

Post a Comment