The Ferris Fire has turned a corner, as crews this week reached 89% containment and transitioned to suppression repair work.
Officials this week are focused on rehabilitating the landscape, which includes stabilizing roads, and repairing dozer lines throughout the forest and drainage systems impacted by flooding.
Some of the wildfire’s interior still burns, though that is to be expected, said Lorena Williams, San Juan National Forest spokesperson.
Over the past week or two, rain and higher humidity played a role in enabling suppression. Similar monsoonal moisture and storms are expected across the burn area this week.
The 64,881-acre Ferris Fire began June 27 as three separate lighting-caused fires that merged into one on the San Juan National Forest and Bureau of Land Management lands, about 15 miles northwest of Dolores. It has scorched about 1,000 acres of private property.
It forced the evacuation of about 170 homes – including some second homes or seasonal getaways. No structures had been lost as of Tuesday.
“This was a huge, welcome turning point,” Williams said. “Essentially, two weeks ago, our meteorologist indicated we were expected to get significant rain, and we knew it would take a change in the weather for conditions on the ground to change as well.”
Williams said the Ferris Fire presented some of the most extreme fire behavior over the past 30 years on the San Juan National Forest. The blaze erupted amid severe drought and launched dangerous runs in its early days.
Areas that faced evacuations included Glade Ranch private residences within the San Juans, and the Dove Creek and Cahone residents closer to the Dolores River Canyon.
Ranchers also moved hundreds of cattle on Forest Service lands where they grazed.
During the fire, roughly 160 square-miles of private property were cautioned under some type of evacuation status. Since then, all evacuation zones returned to “ready” status, according to the emergency manager’s office.
By early July, anyone facing north from Cortez could see great smoke plumes erupting where the fire pushed across dry fuels under hot weather and in various directions.
Growth in the start was primarily wind-driven rather than being driven by the terrain. Wind speeds were recorded up to 50 mph, and low humidity meant little overnight recovery. Once the blaze reached the Dolores River Canyon, flames ran uphill over the canyon, sometimes climbing 1,000 feet in about five to seven minutes, incident commander Nic Elmquist said.
Logistics were turned over to national incident command California Team 7 on July 7, which set up and ran a base camp at the Dolores County Fairgrounds while staff numbers grew by the day, reaching more than 1,040 personnel.
This week, operations had been reduced to about 555 people and shifted to the San Juan Team 8, the local type 3 incident management team.
Williams credited the hard work of crews for the fact that no structures were lost.
Commanders implemented a full-suppression tactic from the beginning, dropping buckets of water and fire retardant around land and structures at risk using daily air support. High priorities were minimizing damage to private property, critical infrastructure and natural resources. As of Monday, the total cost of the fire had reached $35.5 million, according to fire officials.
Crews are still working to secure the remaining 11% containment. Williams said firefighters are focused on the northeast pocket near the Glade Ranch subdivisions and the northwest side along the Dolores River Canyon.
Infrared drones are being deployed to locate inner hot pockets and assess the canyon’s condition. All other crews are on repair work, building berms and replanting disturbed soils so upturned land during suppression doesn’t leave a scar.
“We are focused on making sure the human impact associated with this fire, like the dozer lines, are mitigated and repaired back to a natural state,” Williams said.
Heavy rainfall has already caused some flooding around Bradfield Bridge Campground, and more may come with the rain because of damaged culverts throughout the fire.
Despite the progress, Williams said forest closures for the BLM and San Juan National Forest remain in effect for fire areas, nearby roads and campgrounds to ensure public safety while crews work. That includes the Bradfield Bridge, Box Elder Recreation Areas and multiple roads on the north end of the Ferris Fire.
awatson@the-journal.com
