Snow gives firefighters “day of rest” on East Troublesome fire, other blazes in Colorado
After several days of unprecedented growth, the East Troublesome fire’s expansion froze thanks to a snowstorm that dampened the blaze, officials said Monday, but cautioned it could spread again with warmer, dry weather this week.
Between 6 and 12 inches of snow fell in Grand County and 15-18 inches of snow was reported around Estes Park, preventing the 192,560-acre wildfire from growing, Noel Livingston, the incident commander for the East Troublesome fire, said in a livestream video.
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“We’re really tickled to see that,” Livingston said.
The fire was reduced to a smolder amid the storm. But while the precipitation paused the fire’s growth, the storm is not expected to extinguish it completely as warmer, dryer weather is predicted for later in the week.
East Troublesome fire stalls within about a mile of Estes Park ahead of heavy snow
“One of the things that is very important to think about as we move forward is what it’s going to take to make sure these fires stay put,” Livingston said.
The snow, while helpful, hindered firefighters from continuing work on containing the blaze because of icy road conditions. As of Monday, containment reached 15%.
Air resources were not used Monday due to weather conditions and a reduction in fire activity, Livingston said. Officials anticipate downsizing their use of air support over the next few days.
“It was a day of rest for the firefighters,” Livingston said in a Monday evening update.
The priority Monday and for the rest of the week is to ensure evacuees can return to their homes as soon as it is safe, Livingston said.
Pre-evacuations for Granby were lifted and some mandatory evacuations were reduced to pre-evacuation status. Neighborhoods north of Granby remained under mandatory evacuation orders.
Snow also gave responders on the Cameron Peak fire west of Fort Collins a chance to secure more containment, which was up to 64% as of Monday, officials said. That fire remained the largest in state history at 208,663 acres. Its growth stalled after nearly two feet of snow that fell on parts of the fire over the weekend.
“With this snowfall this time of year, I do think we’re in a really good spot,” said Paul Delmerico, operations section chief for the Cameron Peak fire.
However, the heavy snow forced crews to slow down or pause firefighting efforts as roads became ice covered and the terrain became difficult to traverse, Delmerico said. As the weather heats up, the snow is expected to melt and fuels will dry out again, but firefighters hope to report more containment, he added.
The 10,105-acre CalWood fire burning outside Boulder was reported at 76% containment Monday. It, too, benefitted from snowfall, getting up to 13 inches of snow over the past several days, according to a news release.
The snow helped firefighters pinpoint hot spots along the fire’s perimeter. Once a hot spot was found, firefighters aggressively tried to cool it down by releasing the heat and dampening with water, officials said.
Not far from the CalWood fire, the Lefthand fire was reported as fully contained. The 460-acre blaze that started Oct. 18.