The Ferris Fire northwest of Dolores reached 10% containment as of Thursday evening, according to San Juan Team 8 officials.
Nearly 27,400 acres have burned since three wildfires erupted six days ago before merging. The 10% applies to the entire wildfire boundary but it is more established on the southeastern flank.
“The coming days, and when we do mapping tonight, if the fire increases in acreage, then that percentage would go down because we have less containment overall,” said Abraham Proffitt, a spokesman for the San Juan National Forest.
For the fire’s west side, near where fire officials warned it was backing into Dolores Canyon earlier Thursday, Proffitt said it has not yet reached the river.
The anticipation that it would or will eventually enter the canyon moved more personnel from Divisions O and Z to the western rim in preparation.
However, that northwestern area saw potentially less wind throughout Thursday, minimizing smoke and fire activity.
“We'll see what happens tonight and the following days, but we are anticipating that it will reach the canyon,” Proffitt said.
Fire growth progressed on Divisions F and K near Benchmark Lookout Tower, another important structure teams are working to mitigate and protect, along with those areas closer to private land.
The fire burned through the scrub oak fuel type and merged with the conifer fuel-type as it moved north. While the fire has progressed near Benchmark Lookout, the structure remains safe because crews have developed protective fire lines around it, Proffitt said.
“Dozers used direct tactics to maintain the dozer lines and suppress the oncoming fire around private property,” he said.
Two “Super Scooper” multi-engine planes are arriving to fly Friday, with capabilities to launch rapid descents into water from McPhee Reservoir. The task will carry about 1,500 gallons of water to the fire line in a four-hour window from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
“We just ask the public to be on the lookout. If they see planes approaching we ask them to stay clear of that,” Proffitt said. “We will have forest personnel on boats patrolling, as well as located at the McPhee boat ramp and House Creek boat ramp to help educate them.”
A public meeting is scheduled Friday 6 p.m. at Dove Creek Public Service Center. It will also be live-streamed on Zoom and include representatives from San Juan Team 8, the forest service and Dolores and Montezuma counties to take in-person and online questions about Ferris Fire updates.
The firefighting crew grew from 280 to 365 personnel Thursday.
The Ferris Fire remained at 0% containment as of Thursday day.
Fire crews continued their charge, committing fuller resources to the tricky terrain of northwest Dolores River Canyon where San Juan Team 8 officials anticipated flames would reach next.
Lorena Williams, San Juan National Forest spokeswoman, said that morning no private land or structures were burning, although evacuation orders were in affect for the Glade Ranch subdivision area and could be imposed for other private inholdings near the river canyon.
“We are moving a lot of fire resources over to the west side of the Dolores Rim to be available in case where there are homes, power lines and other critical infrastructure that we want to protect over there,” Williams said.
The west side is near homes, power lines and economic drivers, including range and timber.
The private land that may be affected is under a “set” status regarding evacuations. This means those located in Zone 8, which includes parts of Dolores County Road 16, should be ready quickly to leave given the proximity of the fire, according to the Dolores County Office of Emergency Management’s Facebook page. All updates are posted directly to the page.
The sign-up for the Dolores County emergency alert system is available online through an Everbridge community link.
“Being set doesn’t mean you need to leave yet – it means you’re prepared to go immediately if asked. Acting early helps keep you, your loved ones, and first responders safe,” the office said in a Facebook post.
Williams said the strategy for the canyon flames in divisions C and A is to use a network of roads and natural barriers like meadows to build a line around the fire. Crews will primarily use engines to mobilize better and supply water.
“What’s different about the northwest side of the fire is you can’t dig lines in a canyon. You can’t put retardant in the canyon. You can’t put bulldozers in the canyon,” she said. “What you have to do is build the line around the canyon to contain it there.”
The efforts in Division C has required more planning, resources and even included expanding divisions to account for the fire’s footprint – a new one called division J.
On the east side, near valuables at risk and homes, suppression is making good progress, as characterized by Williams.
“We’re going to keep assessing structures and doing point protection,” she said. “But every day that's gone by, there’s more hose lays to bring more water, more dozer line to protect the structures, and more firefighters to keep expanding that fire line.”
awatson@the-journal.com
