Lightner Creek Fire Update

Lightner Creek Fire Update

June 30, 2017 - 8:30 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.

Current Situation: There will be a community meeting Friday, June 30 at 5 p.m. at Escalante Middle School (141 Baker Lane). The team and partners will provide updates and be available to answer questions on the fire's progression, suppression actions, and plans to further contain the fire.

The Lightner Creek Fire started June 28 in a structure on private land and spread to nearby vegetation. The fire is burning on private, state, and BLM-administered lands. Several heavy air tankers, single engine air tankers and helicopters assisted and lined most of the fire east of Lightner Creek with retardant. As of Thursday evening, the fire is now estimated at 362 acres and 20 percent contained. 

Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team Black assumed command of the incident at 6 a.m. Friday, June 30. The team will continue to work closely with La Plata County, the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, the Bureau of Land Management. 

                              
La Plata County is posting community and evacuation updates at www.co.laplata.co.us.  Evacuees who need to enter closed areas on County Roads 206, 207 and 208 are asked to call the hotline at (970) 385-8700 to request a law enforcement escort to retrieve medications, pets, livestock, or campers in the Lightner Creek Campground. Scheduling will be dependent on fire conditions, and the trips will be brief.         

Weather: Breezy and dry conditions are expected to continue through Friday.

Safety: Wildfire behavior is largely contingent upon weather and fuel conditions. The potential for fire activity remains high. The public is reminded to be cautious with all combustible materials to prevent unwanted, human-caused fires.

Please remember that members of the public who illegally fly drones over or near wildfires threaten the safety of firefighters and the effectiveness of wildfire management operations. Unauthorized drones have disrupted and delayed air operations on the Lightner Creek Fire on several occasions.

Closures: County Roads 206, 207 and 208 remain closed. All recreation trails in the “Test Tracks” west of downtown Durango are closed, including Hogsback, Leyden and Hidden Valley trails.

Fire Restrictions: Stage 1 Fire Restrictions are in effect on BLM-administered public lands in Archuleta, Dolores, La Plata, Montezuma, Montrose and San Miguel counties. La Plata County Board of County Commissioners enacted restrictions on open burning south of U.S. Highway 160. Stage 1 restrictions affect unincorporated private land and state land areas in La Plata County.  

Lightner Creek Fire Stats:                                                                                             

Start Date:  June 28                                          

Location:  4.24 miles NW of Durango           

Size:  362 acres                                                  

Percent Contained: 20%                                         

Cause:  Structure; spread to wildland

InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5298/

Email: lightnercreekfireinfo@gmail.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BLMMontroseFireUnit/

Twitter: #lightnercreekfire

-- 

Chris BarthFire Mitigation Specialist
BLM – Montana/Dakotas

O: (406) 896-2977

C: (406) 671-4856

E: cbarth@blm.gov

La Plata County Commissioners enact Stage 1 fire restrictions south of Highway 160

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE              

For more information,                                                                                       June 27, 2017

please contact Megan Graham at (970)382-6265                                         

Commissioners enact Stage 1 fire restrictions south of Highway 160

On Tuesday, the La Plata County Board of County Commissioners enacted restrictions on open burning south of U.S. Highway 160 effective 9 a.m. Wednesday, June 28. These Stage 1 restrictions affect unincorporated private land and state land areas in La Plata County.  County Commissioners enacted the fire restrictions on the recommendation of Sheriff Sean Smith and the chiefs of the local fire districts.

“We have had good moisture through the winter and spring months that has led to dense ground fuels,” said Butch Knowlton, La Plata County director of emergency management.  “Those grasses and smaller fuels at the lower elevations have now dried and created conditions that allow for rapid fire development and movement.”

The fire restrictions prohibit open burning, burn barrels and agricultural burning on private property and State lands south of U.S. Highway 160. Charcoal fires are allowed in suitable containers, as are gas grills for barbeques at private residences or fires within designated campground pits with protective grates. Residents and visitors must not to leave these fires unattended and must carefully and fully extinguish them after use.  The use of a campfire, coal or wood-burning stove, any type of charcoal grill or open fire in any undeveloped area is prohibited. 

Stage 1 fire restrictions articulate the following:

•         Smoking is limited to vehicles, buildings, developed recreational areas and 3-foot-wide areas cleared of vegetation.

•         Fireworks are prohibited.

•         Use of explosive material is prohibited.

•         Use of any internal combustion engine is prohibited unless it is equipped with an approved and functioning spark-arresting device.

•         Welding and cutting operations must be conducted with a 20-foot radius safe zone free of vegetation with a 2.5 gallon pressurized fire extinguisher or 5 lb. ABC extinguisher or pressurized water supply and proper hand tools on site with a fire watch individual standing by continuously.

•         Flaring for production wells may be allowed with approval from the designated fire chief.

A violation of the fire restrictions shall constitute a class 2 petty offense punishable by a fine of up to $300 for each violation. 

The fire restrictions will remain in effect until the threat of fire danger in La Plata County has reduced significantly, as determined by the sheriff, local fire chiefs and the county’s director of emergency management. Should conditions worsen, heightened fire restrictions may be enacted.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe has enacted similar fire restrictions that will also take effect on June 28 for tribal lands; the Bureau of Land Management enacted Stage I fire restrictions effective today on agency lands in La Plata, Archuleta, Dolores, Montezuma, Montrose and San Miguel counties. 

The U.S. Forest Service will continue to closely monitor conditions, but has not issued fire restrictions at this time.  Most Forest Service lands in La Plata County are at higher elevations and currently, the conditions at the upper elevations are not dangerously dry and are ideal for managed fires.

At this time, all public fireworks displays for Fourth of July celebrations will continue under the supervision of the respective fire districts. Final decisions will be made according to conditions as the date approaches.

                        

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Community Input/Open House Scheduled at Downtown Durango Fire Station

We would like to invite our community to attend an Open House at our current Downtown Fire Station at River City Hall - which is located next to the Power House Science Center  ( 1235 Camino Del Rio).  The open house is scheduled for Tuesday June 13th from 6pm - 8pm.  At the open house we will be presenting plans, including proposed locations and designs, for the construction of a Downtown Fire Station which will replace and upgrade the functionality of our current Station 2.  We have narrowed the search to three possible locations and would like to present these locations and receive input on which one would better serve our community.

Attending the open house will be representatives of CDOT, Durango City Council, The Durango Fire Protection District Board of Directors, and City and Fire Department Staff Members - who will be available to discuss the proposed locations and answer questions.  Tours of the current Downtown Fire Station will also be available all evening long.

Durango Fire Protection District is currently housed in the River City Hall location which was pressed into service as a fire station in 1983 as a temporary location until a more permanent solution could be found.  Since that time, the call volume for our downtown district has grown from 719 calls annually to 2273 in 2016.  The current Station presents significant challenges for the Fire District due space limitations, age and disrepair of the building, and design challenges since it was not built to house a fire station. We invite all community members who are interested to come down and be a part of the conversation, and provide your thoughts on the best location for a new Downtown Fire Station.

Durango Herald: Durango crew deploys to Georgia to combat wildfire

Expert with DFPD believes fire could burn throughout the summer

By Luke Perkins Herald Staff Writer | Thursday, May 18, 2017 10:20 PM

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District 

Four Durango Fire Protection District crew members deployed Thursday to a wildfire in Georgia. From right to left are Engine Boss Allen Ottman, Engine Operator Adi Miller and firefighters Sean Ratzmann and Nate Murano.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District 

One of Durango Fire Protection District’s seasonal wildland crews was deployed to Georgia on Thursday to the West Mims fire. The crew includes Engine Boss Allen Ottman, Engine Operator Adi Miller and firefighters Sean Ratzmann and Nate Murano.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District 

Four Durango Fire Protection District crew members deployed Thursday to a wildfire in Georgia. From right to left are Engine Boss Allen Ottman, Engine Operator Adi Miller and firefighters Sean Ratzmann and Nate Murano.

Courtesy of Durango Fire Protection District 

One of Durango Fire Protection District’s seasonal wildland crews was deployed to Georgia on Thursday to the West Mims fire. The crew includes Engine Boss Allen Ottman, Engine Operator Adi Miller and firefighters Sean Ratzmann and Nate Murano.

The Durango Fire Protection District has a crew cruising down to the Florida-Georgia line to assist at a fire that experts predict could last through the summer.

Four of the agency’s wildland specialists loaded up one of the department’s wildland fire trucks, Engine 31, at 6 a.m. Thursday for a deployment on the West Mims fire burning in the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Fargo, Georgia.

The fire has burned more than 150,000 acres and cost more than $29 million, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The lightning-caused blaze was reported April 6. 

Engine Boss Scott Neilsen, who was not among those who deployed, said this is the first deployment of the year for the seasonal wildland specialists, who came on full time Monday.

Included on the crew are Engine Boss Allen Ottman, who has been on the wildland crew for five years, Engine Operator Adi Miller and firefighters Nate Murano and Sean Ratzmann, who is being deployed on his first fire, Deputy Chief Randy Black said.

Private timber resources are at risk from the fire in addition to the refuge area and some nearby towns, Neilsen said.

“There are communities that could be threatened. That’s why we sent a wildland-urban interface engine there,” Neilsen said.

The crew has training for structure protection and emergency medical intervention as well as chain-saw training and experience.

While this is the first deployment for the wildland crew, other individuals associated with the department have already been on the West Mims fire.

“We’ve sent numerous units down there through our single-resource program, including a fire behavior analyst,” Black said.

Analyst David Dallison has been to the fire twice and believes it has the potential to burn through most of the summer, Black said.

Should the fire continue for weeks, DFPD is prepared to swap out crews and keep the engine in Georgia. It should not hamper wildfire coverage in the Durango area, Black said.

In the past, the department has maintained two wildland crews of three to four members but decided to up its coverage this year by bringing on 10 seasonal crew members who will rotate on deployments throughout the season, with no more than eight being out of town at any given time, Black said.

“We changed our model to make sure we had increased availability in town due to our higher call volume,” Black said.

lperkins@durangoherald.com

From CDOT: CDOT Encourages Bicyclists to be Safe in Work Zones

www.codot.gov

www.facebook.com/coloradodot

twitter: @coloradodot

CONTACT:  Lisa Schwantes, Region 5 Communications Manager

970.385.1428 office | 970.749.2015 mobile | lisa.schwantes@state.co.us

May 18, 2017

CDOT Encourages Bicyclists to be Safe in Work Zones
Rules of the Road Apply to All

SW and S-CENTRAL COLORADO – With bicycle tours and race events slated for many communities across the region, cyclists have taken to area roads for training. The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) reminds bicyclists that they must follow the same traffic laws that motorized vehicles are required to obey. Recent incidents, observed by traffic control personnel within several construction projects, has prompted CDOT to issue the warning.

Bicyclists have been reported riding through work zones when traffic was stopped, in order to avoid the short traffic delays required from time to time in the course of construction activity.

“This endangers both the bicyclists and the construction workers,” said Jo Heinlein, CDOT Traffic and Safety Program Manager, “When traffic stops are enforced, that means workers and equipment need space and time to carry out the activity of the construction site. These stops are typically short in duration.”

When traffic is stopped by a flagger in either direction, the bicyclists must also stop. When traffic is released, the motorized vehicles will be released first, and any bicyclists in the queue will follow at the very rear of the queue. This is the fastest, safest, and most efficient way to get both cars and bicycles through the work zone.

STATE LAW ― Bicyclists are reminded that it is written in Colorado State Law (42-4-1412) that “Every person riding a bicycle … shall have all of the rights and duties applicable to the driver of any other vehicle…riders shall comply with the rules set forth… when using streets and highways within incorporated cities and towns…” For more information about Colorado’s bicycling laws, visit www.ColoBikeLaw.com.  

CDOT RESOURCES ― For a range of information and resources for bicyclists, visit www.codot.gov. Click on: Programs > Bicycle and Pedestrian > Information for Bicyclists > Safety Information & Resources for Bicyclists.