Fire crews gain more containment, limit growth of 3 fires

Fire crews in Jefferson, Larimer and Montrose counties on Monday gained more containment and limited the spread of three Colorado wildfires that have destroyed dozens of structures and scorched thousands of acres in the past week.

The 527-acre Quarry fire burning near Deer Creek Canyon in Jefferson County reached 45% containment on Monday afternoon, fire officials said in an update.

Wildfire containment is measured by how much of the fire’s perimeter has a fire line dug into the soil by hand or bulldozer to prevent it from spreading and if there are no more hot spots in the area, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

Firefighters are working to finish controlled burning along the Quarry fire’s western edge, which will provide “a much better chance” of lifting evacuation orders so people can return home, said sheriff’s office spokesperson Karlyn Tilley.

Fire officials can’t give a firm timeline for when remaining evacuation orders will be lifted, but Tilley said they’re “very optimistic” about the progress made.

“God willing and Mother Nature willing, we will get people back in their homes very soon,” she said.

The fire has not damaged any structures since it began burning Tuesday and is being investigated as arson, though fire officials have not determined if it was accidentally or intentionally set, Tilley said.

Containment on the Alexander Mountain fire burning 10 miles west of Loveland jumped to 74% on Monday as crews continue to search for hot spots identified by infrared cameras.

“Last night on the infrared (flight) we told them to turn it up until they could see deer and then back it down a notch so we could see every one of those spots, and then we went in after those spots today,” said Operations Section Chief Jayson Coil in an afternoon briefing.

Management of the fire will likely transition from a complex incident team back to the U.S. Forest Service in the coming days, but locals can expect to see fire crews in the area for weeks.

“As long as there’s heat, as long as there’s smoke, there’s going to be people patrolling,” said Incident Cmdr. Carl Schwope.

Larimer County officials also lifted more mandatory and voluntary evacuation orders Monday, though U.S. 34 remains closed.

The fire destroyed at least 26 homes and 21 outbuildings and damaged four other homes since it sparked July 29, burning across 9,668 acres of Roosevelt National Forest and private land. Around 900 homes are still under mandatory evacuation orders, and the cause of the fire is still being investigated.