Summit County Citizens Voice

Crews battle to keep the fire from spreading north of Poudre Canyon

A map of Colorado High Park Fire as of 10 p.m. June 13 shows the active areas especially on the western edge of the fire. PHOTO COURTESY MARK NEWBY. Click to visit the full-size version on the Black Ice Geospatial website.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — Hot shot crews, air tankers and helicopters working the High Park Fire focused on preventing the spread of a spot fire on the north side of Poudre Canyon.

The spot fire is less than 100 acres but is located in steep terrain and timber, with ground crews having a hard time accessing the area. Air support will focus in this area today and five, Type 1 hotshot crews are also assigned to the spot fire.

Winds shifting to asoutheasterly direction could drive the fire to new areas, especially on the west side, where fire officials have expressed concern about high concentrations of flammable beetle-killed trees. Fire officials have characterized this part of the fire as being “extremely active.”

Thunderstorms will form across parts of Colorado and firefighters would like nothing more than a good soaking shower, but the best chance for rain is over the plains, where severe weather is possible. Gusty winds associated with thunderstorms could ignite new spot fires in some areas.

The High Park encompasses a 52.000-acre footprint and is 15 percent contained.

Up-to-date maps and daily progression maps are online at Larimer.org/HighParkFire.

Larimer County is opening a one-stop disaster recovery center, where victims of the fire will be able to receive services and get information on County, State, and CSU services. The center opens Friday (June 15) at 7 a.m. 7:00 a.m. at Johnson Hall on the Colorado State University campus in Fort Collins.

More updated information is online at the Larimer County Emergency Services blog. Real-time updates stream at Twitter from @LarimerSheriff and at the #HighParkFire hashtag.

Filed under: Uncategorized Tagged: | Colorado wildfires, High Park Fire, High Park Fire airtankers, Larimer County wildfire, Wildfires