The Ferris Fire, burning 15 miles northwest of Dolores, consumed 19,613 acres as of Tuesday morning, remaining zero percent contained as crews continued to battle wind gusts, construct fire lines and clear debris, focusing on protecting homes and private land in evacuated areas northeast of the blaze.
Officials say lightning started the blaze, which began Saturday as three different fires, igniting in the Glade area near Narraguinnep Canyon, north of Dolores, and on San Juan National Forest. Amid dry, hot and windy conditions, all three fires merged by Sunday.
According to Donna Nemeth, a spokesperson with the San Juan National Forest, 169 firefighters from across the nation were working to contain the flames Tuesday, with a focus on the northeast area closest to residences and private property. Crews cleared debris around structures and wrapped them in fire resistant material. So far, she said, no structures have been burned.
While three heavy helicopters and one light helicopter were dumping water on the fire Tuesday morning, officials anticipated high afternoon winds would bring air operations to a halt while crews remained working on the ground, albeit with less support.
“Firefighters were told at morning briefing to expect a challenging day with the winds,” Nemeth said. “But that's something that they’ve been dealing with – red flag conditions – since this fire started.”
Initially, extreme fire behavior prevented firefighters from engaging the fire directly, though air tankers dropped about a dozen loads of retardant on the southeast flank Saturday.
By Sunday morning, the wildfires had crossed Forest Service roads 514 and 493 and expanded in size from about 5,800 acres to more than 10,000 Sunday evening.
Over the weekend, Dolores and Montezuma counties issued evacuation orders for residents of Glade Ranch and several private lands along the lower Dolores River corridor. Updates for evacuations are posted on the Dolores County Office of the Emergency Management Facebook page.
The San Juan National Forest issued a partial closure, covering Lone Dome Road, Bradfield Bridge Campground and Forest Service Road 521 up to McPhee Dam.
The closure of Bradfield Bridge Campground included Forest Service Road 504 south to the base of McPhee Dam, and a safety sweep was conducted on roads 521 and 504, Lorena Williams, spokeswoman with the San Juan National Forest, said on Saturday.
Temporary shelter for evacuees was being provided at the Pleasant View Fire Station, 15235 Road CC. Forest Service officials worked with cattle permittees and timber operators to relocate animals and equipment in the fire’s path.
San Juan Team 8, the local Type 3 Incident Management Team managing the combined team of firefighting crews, used air reconnaissance, three Type 1 helicopters – known as heavies – and one Type 3 helicopter, a lighter model.
“The strong winds we have been getting have certainly made a lot of fire growth the last few days,” Toby Cook, operations section chief for San Juan Team 8, said Monday. “Our main concern there is protecting life and property – the primary thing there being life, and that includes our firefighters. When the winds get too strong, fire activity gets too much (and) we have to pull back and find areas we can keep them safe to work in.”
On Sunday, direct firefighting efforts were severely limited due to extreme fire behavior and weather conditions, according to a news release from the U.S. Forest Service. Wind speeds alleviated Monday. Crews took advantage of the opportunity to build fire lines and perform overnight burnout operations, removing potential fuel between the fire and National Forest Service Road 240.
“The night crew had a really productive evening. The conditions were very favorable for them to complete some burnout operations to help secure the line,” Nemeth said.
According to fire officials, winds were expected to reach 55 mph Tuesday with the National Weather Service issuing a red flag warning through 9 p.m.
NWS forecaster David Byers said the agency anticipated winds to pick up starting at noon.
“The red flag is for extra dry and windy conditions. Fire behavior can be very erratic and fires spread quickly,” Byers warned.
Unfortunately, he added, conditions are expected to remain similar through the rest of the week. The NWS issued a red flag warning for Wednesday and a Fire Weather Watch for Thursday.
“It's a tinder box out there,” Byers said.
avanderveen@the-journal.com
