Fire crews at the Dolores County Fairgrounds began to stir early Saturday in preparation for a day battling heavy smoke and extreme dryness.
Trucks skirted along the dusty expanse, while larger engines idled between rows of trailers and a group of uniform yurts.
At 7 a.m., hundreds donning cargo slacks assembled in front of a wall-sized plywood board and PA system. Cooler temperatures provided some relief at the initial morning briefing before the heat landed.
A map on the board traced the Ferris Fire’s perimeter and its divisions – some where firefighters are working toward containment and others that are too steep and treacherous, such as Dolores Canyon, where flames can take aggressive uphill sprints.
The logistical base outside Dove Creek now supports more than 1,000 personnel – nearly doubling the town’s population. It is equipped with everything essential to keep the sprawling wildfire fight going. As of Monday, the wildfire was at 64,660 acres and 29% containment, according to a Ferris Fire Information news release.
“Camp logistics is basically its own little freestanding city,” said San Juan National Forest spokesman Morgan Bennett, explaining everything runs off trailers, including a mobile medical unit, laundry services and catering.
The camp is equipped with shower and bathroom facilities, its own security patrol, a stockpile of supplies and an entire section devoted to higher management, including accommodations for Ferris Fire’s commanders, planners, information team and firefighter registration or checkout.
Built in three days, the site is an extension of California Interagency Incident Management Team 7. Team 7 is a pre-built organization that brought 120 members who are trained from all over and deploy nationally to bring structural organization to emergencies like wildfires, hurricanes or providing security at big events, such as the Boston Marathon.
“It’s based from the U.S. Navy way of doing things. All these operations are built to expand or shrink as needed and it’s very functional; we all work the exact same way,” said Melanie Banton, a California Team 7 spokesperson.
Strict protocols are in place, such as mandatory hand-washing before meals to prevent sickness from spreading through the close-knit quarters. For firefighters, who often sleep in pitched tents, working conditions are more or less 16-hour shifts and the return to camp is a debate between showering or sacrificing sleep.
The Ferris Fire has engulfed parts of the San Juan National Forest, Bureau of Land Management land and some private land. It represents a complex of three different lightning-sparked wildfires that started June 27 and merged into one blaze northwest of Dolores.
Early on, strong winds drove fire growth; high heat, low nighttime humidity and dry fuels continue to fed it. The level of severity largely depends on each section’s topography, fuel type and weather.
A newer control line has been established to the west along Dolores River Canyon rim, while Monday morning’s update from Ferris Fire Information stated the northwestern potion of the fire remains active throughout day and overnight.
“Over the next couple of days, we have some pretty significant weather coming in,” said lead incident commander Tom Clemo in a Facebook video. “We are at critical levels across the landscape. The next couple of days are important to us.”
He urged residents in the Ready, Set or Go evacuation zones to pay close attention to notices over coming days and be prepared to evacuate if instructed.
Crews are constructing and improving contingency lines to the fire’s northwestern portion, conducting firing operations and mopping up hot spots, according to a Monday news release. While sections to the south and southeast have containment, firefighters are monitoring those perimeters to improve the line if needed.
Management was shifted to Team 7 early last week, handed over from the local type-three incident managers, San Juan Team 8.
“We received a lot of questions from the public, especially in Dove Creek, because they were concerned about the loss of the local team. A very big piece of that is Team 7 is very well equipped to manage incidents of this complexity,” Bennett said.
Many of San Juan Team 8 members integrated into the larger operation, as seen around camp Saturday, such as information personnel, forest biologists and fireline archeologists.
While firefighters generally serve 14 or 21-day assignments before rotating out, the camp itself remains as long as it’s required. Significant variables – for example a sudden burst of rain – can quickly change the fire’s dynamics or even reduce it, but “how it’s going” or what’s at stake for the future remains up in the air.
“We have extreme fuel conditions, extreme weather and extreme topography, and while there’s a lot of growth to this camp, that doesn’t mean the fire is growing or out of control. It just means that this is what it takes to manage it,” Bennett said.
Rita Frederick, an interpretive specialist for the Dillon Ranger District of the White River National Forest, was called up to work as a PIO for the Snyder Fire on the Colorado-Utah border that started June 27.
She said as more containment was established, she got in her car driving “onto the next thing” as she was quickly reassigned to help out at the Ferris Fire.
“It’s always like a shifting target,” Frederick said. “That’s why we have a system in place. There’s always the same objectives: property protection, resource protection, people protection and ultimately putting the fire out.”
awatson@the-journal.com
