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Written by Aaron
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Saturday, 26 June 2010 11:21 |
The fire near Mount Dickinson in Rocky Mountain National Park has reached approximately 800 acres. Fire managers have better acreage estimates due to better mapping. Erratic winds continue to drive the fire to the west, north and north east. The fire is still in a remote area of the park. Fire operation efforts will continue to assess conditions and work to contain the fire in the West Creek drainage. Forecasted weather conditions are slightly more favorable today than yesterday. Because of the nature of the fire, no further ground crews will be sent in to the area. Numerous helicopters and air tankers will assist with today’s efforts. The priority will continue to be defensive fire operations and structure protection for the community of Glen Haven. Rocky Mountain National Park is open along with most park trails.
Last night, as a precautionary measure, four park rangers hiked the North Fork Drainage of the park to contact registered backcountry campers.
All twenty-four campers, in designated backcountry sites, were contacted and hiked out last night. Yesterday afternoon McGraw Ranch Road closed to the public. This road is a private dirt road that leads to Rocky Mountain National Park land, including McGraw Ranch and the Cow Creek Trailhead.
Because of increased traffic in the area due to firefighting efforts, this narrow road was closed for safety reasons. Residents along the road are
not being asked to evacuate. Cow Creek Trail and North Boundary Trail are closed. The Dunraven/North Fork trail is also closed. These trails are
being closed as precautionary measures.
Ground crews had to disengage from active firefighting operations yesterday afternoon due to erratic fire behavior. Yesterday, 10,000 gallons of water and 6 retardant drops were made. A Type 2 Fire Incident team has been requested and is expected to arrive this evening.
On Wednesday, aerial observation indicated there was a small fire burning one mile south of Mount Dickinson in Rocky Mountain National Park.
The location is roughly seven miles from the nearest road and is located in heavy timber in a remote area. It is roughly six miles west of Glen Haven
in the West Creek drainage in the North Fork area of the park. The fire initially began as 3 to 5 acres. Managers expected the fire to increase
yesterday afternoon due to hot, dry temperatures and winds.
On Wednesday, June 23, five airplane loads of retardant were dropped on the fire. At approximately 4:30 p.m. eight smokejumpers deployed in to
the area. There are currently 36 firefighters on the ground; 8 smokejumpers, 8 crew members from Rocky Mountain National Park and 20 crew
members from the Roosevelt Hotshots with the United States Forest Service. |
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Written by Aaron
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Saturday, 26 June 2010 08:03 |
Ground crews are reporting that the fire has reached 200 acres. Erratic winds are driving the fire to the west, north and north east. McGraw Ranch Road is now closed to the public. This road is a private dirt road that leads to Rocky Mountain National Park land; including McGraw Ranch and the Cow Creek Trailhead. Because of increased traffic in the area due to firefighting efforts, this narrow road is being closed for safety reasons. Residents along the road are not being asked to evacuate. Cow Creek Trail and North Boundary Trail are closed. Park staff are also closing the North Fork Trail inside the park. These trails are being closed as a precautionary measure.
Ground crews had to disengage from active firefighting operations this afternoon due to erratic fire behavior. This afternoon 10,000 gallons of water and 6 retardant drops were made. Air operations are winding down for the night. A Type 2 team has been requested and is expected to arrive
tomorrow evening.
Yesterday aerial observation indicated there was a small fire burning one mile south of Mount Dickinson in Rocky Mountain National Park. The location is roughly seven miles from the nearest road and is located in heavy timber in a remote area. It is roughly six miles west of Glen Haven in the West Creek drainage in the North Fork area of the park. The fire initially began as 3 to 5 acres and this afternoon increased to 85 to 100 acres. Fire managers expected the fire to increase this afternoon due to hot, dry temperatures and winds.
Yesterday, five airplane loads of retardant were dropped on the fire. At approximately 4:30 p.m. eight smokejumpers deployed in to the area. The retardant loads helped knock down the fire but it is not yet contained. A ground crew from Rocky Mountain National Park reached the vicinity of the
fire last night. This morning 20 crew members from the Roosevelt Hotshots with the United States Forest Service began hiking to the area. They
arrived on scene this afternoon. Numerous helicopters and air tankers assisted with today’s efforts and will continue to assist tomorrow.
The cause of the fire is suspected to be lightening
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Written by Administrator
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Friday, 25 June 2010 15:09 |
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Yesterday aerial observation indicated there was a small fire burning one mile south of Mount Dickinson in Rocky Mountain National Park. The location is roughly seven miles from the nearest road and is located in heavy timber in a remote area. It is roughly six miles west of Glen Haven in the West Creek drainage in the North Fork area of the park. The fire yesterday was reported as 3 to 5 acres and has increased to 10 to 12 acres.
Yesterday, five airplane loads of retardant were dropped on the fire. At approximately 4:30 p.m. eight smokejumpers deployed in to the area. The retardant loads helped knock down the fire but it is not yet contained. A
ground crew from Rocky Mountain National Park reached the vicinity of the fire last night. This morning 20 crew members from the Roosevelt Hotshots with the United States Forest Service began hiking to the area. They
arrived on scene this afternoon. A medium size helicopter has been ordered and is scheduled to arrive this afternoon dedicated to support firefighting efforts. Another large helicopter for water drops as well as two additional air tankers have been requested.
All designated trails in Rocky Mountain National Park are open. However, due to aircraft and firefighters working in the West Creek and Fox Creek drainages; off-trail travel is not allowed in the area south of the North Fork of the Big Thompson River, west of the North Boundary Trail, north of Cow Creek and east of Mummy Mountain and Mount Dunraven. This closure area is a remote section of the park and has very low visitation.
The cause of the fire is still undetermined.
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Written by Aaron
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Thursday, 24 June 2010 19:45 |
Air observation indicates there is a three to five acre fire burning one mile south of Mount Dickinson in Rocky Mountain National Park. The location is roughly seven miles from the nearest road and is located in heavy timber in a remote area. It is roughly six miles west of Glen Haven in the West Creek drainage in the North Fork area of the park. No one is on scene of the fire.
Four air tankers have been requested from Jefferson County Airport and six to eight smokejumpers based out of Grand Junction are en route. Smokejumpers will only be used if there is a safe and suitable area for them to jump in to the vicinity. Smoke was reported around 1:00 p.m. today.
Resources initially included Rocky Mountain National Park staff as well as Estes Park Volunteer Fire Department and Glen Haven Volunteer Fire Department while the location of the smoke was being determined. Currently the resources include three interagency engines and approximately 20
personnel. However, no ground crews will be accessing the area today because of the aerial resources requested.
The cause of the fire has not yet been determined. |
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Written by Aaron
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Monday, 14 June 2010 09:16 |
On the evening of Saturday, June 12, a 20 year old female reported to park rangers that she had been attacked near the Glacier Creek Trail in Rocky
Mountain National Park. She was trail running in the area and while taking a break, she stated that she was attacked from behind by a white male. The
assailant was reported to be wearing a black windbreaker, had a fit build and was between 5’4” and 5’9,” no other description is available at this time. She was able to fight the attacker off and ran down the trail to call for help. Rocky Mountain National Park dispatch was notified by phone by the victim of the attack.
A park ranger took the female to Estes Park Medical Center where she was treated for a minor injury and released. The investigation is ongoing. Saturday night rangers performed containment around the area and increased patrols in nearby Glacier Basin Campground. The location of the attack is
roughly one half mile from the Glacier Basin Campground. Estes Park Police Department and Larimer County Sheriff’s Office were notified.
Park rangers continue to gather information and have increased patrols in the area. If anyone was in the vicinity of the attack Saturday night or has
information pertaining to this incident, they are encouraged to call Rocky Mountain National Park at (970) 586-1204. |
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