Delaware News

Delaware’s 20 wildland firefighters now battling Colorado’s Pine Ridge Fire

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | News | Date Posted: Monday, July 2, 2012



July 2, 2012

Contact: Henry Poole, Delaware Forest Service Fire Program Administrator, 302-698-4548   henry.poole@delaware.gov

Delaware’s crew of 20 wildland firefighters is now assigned to the Pine Ridge Fire, located 13 miles northeast of Grand Junction, Colorado along the Colorado River. The fire began on June 27 and is currently estimated at 13,360 acres with 35 percent containment.

 Photo (from left): Michael Krumrine of Magnolia, Brian Ward of Houston, and Adam Keever of Port Penn work on extinguishing hotspots and flareups on the Weber Fire in southwestern Colorado. Delaware’s 20-man crew is now assigned to the Pine Ridge Fire located 13 miles NE of Grand Junction, Colorado. (Photo by Glenn Gladders, Delaware Forest Service)

Latest updates: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2951/

Current Situation: Crews were successful in meeting yesterday’s priority objectives, which included keeping fire from crossing the Colorado River and south of Shale Ridge. Containment lines are looking good with hard work from fire crews and aviation support. Personnel on the west side of the fire are building line in a northerly direction to connect with the existing fireline on the north flank.

Containment was reached on the east side of the fire along the Colorado River and I-70 corridor including the northeast corner. The Union Pacific Railroad assisted with equipment and water transportation yesterday which allowed crews to work on line construction more quickly.

Helicopters cooled hot spots in steep inaccessable areas and held fire along the perimeter so crews could construct direct fireline.

Today crews and engines will patrol the east, north and west flanks of the fire and continue mop-up operations. On the south side of the fire, crews will go direct and work to connect the fireline with the east and west flanks. Shifting winds are expected today which can make fire behavior unpredictible.

Basic Information

Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Lightning
Date of Origin Wednesday June 27th, 2012 approx. 01:57 PM
Location 13 miles E of Grand Junction along the Colorado River
Incident Commander Bill Hahnenberg

Current Situation

Total Personnel 422
Size 13,360 acres
Percent Contained 35%
Estimated Containment Date Monday July 09th, 2012 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved Pinyon-Juniper, sage brush
Fire Behavior Isolated torching and short range spotting.
Significant Events Bill Hahnenberg’s Type 1 Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire at 6:00 a.m., June 30.

Outlook

Planned Actions Completed burnout reducing the threat of fire spread to thenorth. Monday, July 2- Continue reinforcing north line. Construct direct and indirect line on south flank.
Growth Potential Extreme – Fire can be expected to continue isolated torching and backing with interior islands burning out. This will produce smoke in some sections of the fire. Fire continues to threaten the community of DeBeque & I-70 Corridor.
Terrain Difficulty Rugged inaccessible terrain and a continous heavy fuel loading is causing a high resistance to control.
Remarks Fire acres are updated each morning following nightly infraed flights and may be different than the acreage reflected on the 209 information.

Current Weather

Wind Conditions 12 mph SW
Temperature 90 degrees
Humidity 10%
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Delaware’s 20 wildland firefighters now battling Colorado’s Pine Ridge Fire

Department of Agriculture | Forest Service | News | Date Posted: Monday, July 2, 2012



July 2, 2012

Contact: Henry Poole, Delaware Forest Service Fire Program Administrator, 302-698-4548   henry.poole@delaware.gov

Delaware’s crew of 20 wildland firefighters is now assigned to the Pine Ridge Fire, located 13 miles northeast of Grand Junction, Colorado along the Colorado River. The fire began on June 27 and is currently estimated at 13,360 acres with 35 percent containment.

 Photo (from left): Michael Krumrine of Magnolia, Brian Ward of Houston, and Adam Keever of Port Penn work on extinguishing hotspots and flareups on the Weber Fire in southwestern Colorado. Delaware’s 20-man crew is now assigned to the Pine Ridge Fire located 13 miles NE of Grand Junction, Colorado. (Photo by Glenn Gladders, Delaware Forest Service)

Latest updates: http://www.inciweb.org/incident/2951/

Current Situation: Crews were successful in meeting yesterday’s priority objectives, which included keeping fire from crossing the Colorado River and south of Shale Ridge. Containment lines are looking good with hard work from fire crews and aviation support. Personnel on the west side of the fire are building line in a northerly direction to connect with the existing fireline on the north flank.

Containment was reached on the east side of the fire along the Colorado River and I-70 corridor including the northeast corner. The Union Pacific Railroad assisted with equipment and water transportation yesterday which allowed crews to work on line construction more quickly.

Helicopters cooled hot spots in steep inaccessable areas and held fire along the perimeter so crews could construct direct fireline.

Today crews and engines will patrol the east, north and west flanks of the fire and continue mop-up operations. On the south side of the fire, crews will go direct and work to connect the fireline with the east and west flanks. Shifting winds are expected today which can make fire behavior unpredictible.

Basic Information

Incident Type Wildfire
Cause Lightning
Date of Origin Wednesday June 27th, 2012 approx. 01:57 PM
Location 13 miles E of Grand Junction along the Colorado River
Incident Commander Bill Hahnenberg

Current Situation

Total Personnel 422
Size 13,360 acres
Percent Contained 35%
Estimated Containment Date Monday July 09th, 2012 approx. 12:00 AM
Fuels Involved Pinyon-Juniper, sage brush
Fire Behavior Isolated torching and short range spotting.
Significant Events Bill Hahnenberg’s Type 1 Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team assumed command of the fire at 6:00 a.m., June 30.

Outlook

Planned Actions Completed burnout reducing the threat of fire spread to thenorth. Monday, July 2- Continue reinforcing north line. Construct direct and indirect line on south flank.
Growth Potential Extreme – Fire can be expected to continue isolated torching and backing with interior islands burning out. This will produce smoke in some sections of the fire. Fire continues to threaten the community of DeBeque & I-70 Corridor.
Terrain Difficulty Rugged inaccessible terrain and a continous heavy fuel loading is causing a high resistance to control.
Remarks Fire acres are updated each morning following nightly infraed flights and may be different than the acreage reflected on the 209 information.

Current Weather

Wind Conditions 12 mph SW
Temperature 90 degrees
Humidity 10%
image_printPrint


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.