Kris and Jenn Shea of Steamboat Springs were lucky. When the evacuation orders came for their home near the new “Green Ridge Fire” — which erupted near Stagecoach Reservoir, about 15 miles south of Steamboat, on Sunday at 1:45 p.m. and quickly spread to 94.3 acres by that evening — they were both out of town. Jenn was in Buena Vista, and Kris was fishing in Florida. But their friends were there to rally support and grab their belongings. 

Fortunately, it didn’t come to that as the order was soon rescinded. But for Kris, it was touch-and-go with the fire spotting just a mile or two away. 

“It was pretty surreal,” said Kris, who owns Cruiser’s Sub Shop. “I was in the middle of the Gulf and felt a little handcuffed. My wife called me, and I called my brother and it all happened so fast. I didn’t know that they had rescinded it until Monday morning. I was a little anxious overnight.”

The county reported that the fire had not grown overnight and containment increased to 27%.

On Sunday afternoon, Routt County ordered evacuations for zones OC-522, OC-523, OC-528 and OC-536, and issued a pre-evacuation alert for zones OC-521, OC-527, OC-529, OC-531, OC-532 and OC-537, with officials opening an evacuation center at Soroco High School in Oak Creek. Residents in pre-evacuation zones were encouraged to pack their car, keep a full gas tank and turn their vehicle in the direction of leaving. 

The evacuation orders for zones OC-522 and OC-523 were pulled back to pre-evacuation status at around 6:30 p.m. on Sunday. According to real-time wildfire tracking platform WatchDuty.org, as well as the mandatory evacuations, the fire is threatening nearly 480 structures.

Gov. Jared Polis has issued a disaster declaration for Routt County in response to the Green Ridge Fire, which “activates the State Emergency Operations Plan and directs the Department of Public Safety and its Divisions of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM) and Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) to take responsibility for all response, recovery and mitigation efforts on the Green Ridge Fire.”

Fishhook Fire

Randy Kelley and his wife, Aleka Scott, were on a hike at the top of Rabbit Ears Peak on Sunday when they saw both fires break out. “We saw plumes of smoke from each of them rising into the air,” said Kelley.

The first and closest to them was the Fishhook Fire, which started at around 12:30 p.m. Sunday off Rabbit Ears Pass 1.5 miles north of U.S. Highway 40 at the Bruce’s Trailhead at the head of Walton Creek on U.S. Forest Service land. The fire grew overnight and was estimated at 144 acres late Monday, according to WatchDuty.org. 

The fire’s growth also prompted Steamboat Ski Resort to start 41 snowmaking guns to wet the areas around Tomahawk and Spike trails and around Rendezvous Lodge.

“The Fishhook Fire is burning about three miles from the resort boundary,” said Steamboat Resort Communications Director Maren Franciosi. “While it is not currently an immediate threat, we recognize that wildfires can be unpredictable, and we are taking proactive precautions. As part of those efforts, we are operating some of our snowmaking guns as a preventive measure. We continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in close coordination with agencies responding.”

The water being used for these precautionary efforts, she added, is within Steamboat Resort’s existing, permitted water rights and is being utilized in accordance with all applicable regulations. “This targeted use is one component of our broader wildfire preparedness efforts,” she said.

The protective measures are being taken in hopes of avoiding the fate of Sierra-at-Tahoe, California, where the Caldor fire in 2021 burned 80 percent of its 2,000 acres and damaged five of its nine lifts.

While no official road closures or evacuations have been announced for the Fishhook Fire, people should avoid recreating in the Rabbit Ears area, officials said. 

According to the Forest Service’s incident report posted Monday on inciweb, 100 personnel have been assigned to the fire, with its growth minimal and fire activity moderate. While both aerial and ground resources engaged with the fire on Monday, with an “initial heavy aerial response from helicopters,” difficult terrain and access has made ground fighting difficult. An incident management team has been ordered and an area closure for the surrounding Forest is expected to be announced soon. U.S. Highway 40 is still open.

The cause of the fire has not been identified.

While Sunday evening’s smoky skies had cleared by Monday morning, area residents saw helicopters with buckets and slurry bombers flying overhead throughout the day.

The Fishhook and Green Ridge fires add to an already active season in Colorado, which currently has five large wildfires burning a combined 202,275 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. The Aspen Acres Fire near Rye and the Ferris Fire in the San Juan National Forest each rank among the largest fires burning in the country right now.

To view evacuation zones in Routt County, visit tinyurl.com/4bss4p3k