Officials at the Alexander Mountain fire say that, because of the large number of fires across the West, roughly 90% of their requests for additional outside resources have been denied. But nonetheless they say crews battling the blaze feel they have the resources they need to be successful.

Late Friday, the fire was just under 9,400 acres and is 5% contained.

Weather remained a concern. Sun and heat were the primary worry during the day. But as afternoon turned to evening, dark clouds rolled in and brought with them thunder and possible storms — a fresh concern for crews.

By 5:30 p.m., air assets appear to be grounded as lightning struck in areas they would presumably be called in to douse.

Still, firefighters believe they are enjoying overall successes.

“That doesn’t mean we are without challenges, it is still very hot and the fire is still amongst the homes,” Carl Schwope, the incident commander, said. “The threat of the fire crossing Highway 34 is still very realistic.”

Just under 400 personnel were working the fire as of the 4 p.m. update, including five specialized hotshot teams. Hotshot teams are elite wildland firefighters who are called into the most challenging parts of a fire. Each team is made up of roughly 20 firefighters.

A crew from Durango was called in to assist crews on the Quarry fire due to the sheer canyon faces of the affected area.

Community members in Loveland and used chalk to write out a large “Thank You” to firefighters flying overhead. The residents declined to be named, but said “they hoped other people would catch on with the trend so the pilots (and all the fire fighters) would know how much they were appreciated,” in an emailed response to The Denver Gazette’s questions.

Speaking to the spread of the fire and operational efforts of firefighters currently, Operations Section Chief Jayson Coil said the fire has not spread more than a mile into the Cameron Peak burn scar. On Thursday, Coil said if it were to travel more than one mile into that scar, crews would have to re-evaluate. That did not happen, however and other lines are “holding.”

“As the fire moves around the community our crews have been protecting a home and then moving on to protect the next home,” Coil said. “Now they’re working to connect the dots. There’s a lot of effort put into tying pieces of burned areas together to prevent the fire from moving further west.”

If a fire hits an already burned area, there’s no more fuel for it to consume and it is mostly stopped.

Due to ongoing dry conditions and the danger of fire regionwide, the U.S. Forest Service announced Stage Two fire restrictions in the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests, as well as the Pawnee National Grassland area.

“Essentially means there’s no open flame of any kind allowed on Forest Service lands unless you’re using a device that has an on off switch,” Jason Sieg, the acting forest supervisor of the area.

“It also means that there’s no outdoor smoking on national forest lands along the front range counties and the national forest lands in Grand County.”

Earlier Friday, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office announced some mandatory evacuation orders have been modified, and some voluntary evacuation notices have been lifted. 

Additionally, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office lifted voluntary evacuation orders for people living in the Hidden Valley area east of the Devils Backbone, and residents off of Ridge Parkway.

Residents living off of Glade Road from Highway 34 to west County Road 38E, those near Rearview RV Park and those living north along Buckhorn Road to Woods Road, have also seen mandatory wildfire evacuation orders lifted. A voluntary evacuation notice remains in effect, according to a noon update from LCSO. 

At 1 p.m., the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office announced mandatory evacuations near Blue Mountain have been lifted. However, for residences on Moss Rock Drive and Moss Rock Court, mandatory evacuation orders still stand.