Posted on 06/19/2002 11:25:30 AM PDT by DemoSmear
June 19, 2002
Heavy equipment moved into Rampart Range Road area
~The Colorado Springs Gazette
Massive flames from the Hayman fire leap into the air Tuesday north of Florissant. U.S. Forest Service personnel estimated the flames at 60 to 100 feet high. The blaze has consumed 120,000 acres. Wind pushed it farther east toward Woodland Park.
The Army joined the battle against the Hayman fire early Wednesday, hoping to hold back flames that advanced Tuesday to the back doors of Woodland Park and Palmer Lake.
At dawn Wednesday, a group of bulldozers and other pieces of earthmoving equipment from Fort Carson headed up Rampart Range Road, escorted by Teller County sheriff squad cars and trucks. The eastern side of the fire was estimated to be three miles west of the El Paso County line as of 8 a.m., but rising humidity overnight had slowed the spread of the fire.
U.S. Forest Service spokesman Joe Colwell said early Wednesday fire commanders expect the fire to move eastward and northward during the day. For example, he said, the fire could drop into a place such as Long Hollow, a canyon that runs from Rampart Range Road leading into Perry Park, a subdivision near Larkspur in Douglas County. The canyon could act like a chimney, funneling the fire.
Two Forest Service hotshot crews and slurry bombers are expected to attack one of the hottest spots in the fire at the southern end of the Lost Creek Wilderness area east of Goose Creek and the Park/Jefferson county line. Also, firefighting crews will attempt to create a continuous fire line north and south of the Polhemus prescribed burn area to keep the fire from running northeast into Douglas County.
The new movement of the fire has become so worrisome that Forest Service officials will assign a third Type I fire team - the agency's most elite - to direct operations of the fire south of the Douglas County line and east of Colorado Highway 67. Previously, two Type I teams, one in Castle Rock and the other in Lake George, had directed attacks on the north and south ends of the fire. There are now 2,200 firefighters from 30 states battling the largest forest fire in Colorado's recorded history.
A storm front off the eastern plains is due to reach the Palmer Divide by late afternoon Wednesday, creating isolated thunderstorms in certain areas but bringing isolated pockets of wind gusts of up to 50 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Pueblo.
The storm front will do little to help firefighters battling the blaze during the day Wednesday, and, in fact, could stir up more trouble, but meteorologist Larry Walrod said cooler temperatures and higher levels of humidity are expected by midnight, something fire crews need.
"There's definitely hope, but we've got to get through today," Walrod said.
Winds Wednesday are expected to blow out of the west and southwest at 20-30 mph, a factor that could push the fire closer to the Tri-Lakes area, Walrod said. Hot, dry conditions are also forecast for most of the day, similar to yesterday, with temperatures reaching the mid-80s below 10,000 feet and with relative humidity between 5-15 percent.
Fire officials estimated the blaze had grown to about 121,000 acres charred since June 8, when the fire was set, federal prosecutors say, by U.S. Forest Service employee Terry Barton.
The fire has cost $15 million to fight so far, Colwell said. If it doesn't grow another inch, he said, the fire will cost $52 million just to put it out. That figure does not include the value of property and structures lost, nor the cost of forest rehabilitation.
Tuesday night, officials ordered evacuations from Perry Park south along Colorado Highway 105 to Palmer Lake in El Paso County, as well as along Rampart Range Road.
The evacuations were ordered as the fire lurched eastward, gobbling up an estimated 7,000 new acres of forest. Containment of the fire - defined as areas of flame that remain behind fire lines - dropped from a previous estimate of 41 percent to 40 percent. The fire settled down overnight, but an eerie orange glow, reflected by the dense cloud of smoke, could be seen along the Rampart Range from the highly populated areas east of I-25.
Wednesday morning, the skies above Woodland Park were clear until after 7 a.m., when smoke began billowing into town.
Firefighters have, for the most part, stayed out of the direct path of the fire, which at various times since it started 11 days ago has burned ferociously hot and fast in unpredictable ways.
"We're at the mercy of the weather," Colwell said Tuesday at the Castle Rock command center. "The dragon is still spitting fire. It just depends which way he turns his head."
On Tuesday, the dragon turned its head eastward. Tall, dark columns of thick smoke churning in the sky high over Colorado Springs signaled a huge eruption of the Hayman fire as it roared east toward cities and towns in El Paso and Douglas counties.
As residents of Woodland Park anxiously watched flames leaping 60 to 100 feet in the air on nearby hillsides Tuesday, winds pushed the blaze east, keeping it about six miles north of the mountain town of 6,700 people.
The fire's movement, along with the predictions of unfavorable winds, prompted the series of evacuations late Tuesday. As of 6 a.m. Wednesday, no further evacuations had been ordered.
Just one family spent Tuesday night in an emergency shelter established at Lewis-Palmer Middle School in Monument. But the shelter saw a steady stream of people coming to offer their homes and spare rooms to people and pets who may become displaced by the fire.
A community meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. in the Lewis-Palmer Middle School auditorium.
Tuesday night, 13 people slept in an emergency shelter that has been set up at Woodland Park High School, and two people were sent from there to a Colorado Springs hospital suffering from smoke inhalation, a Red Cross official said. By Wednesday morning, the school's parking lot was filling with recreational vehicles, campers and cars.
About 7,500 people now are out of their homes and thousands more Front Range residents could be facing possible evacuation depending on where the fire moves next.
Tri-Lakes fire officials called for a voluntary evacuation of the Palmer Lake-Monument area after the wildfire jumped trenches dug by bulldozers at Westcreek and hopped Colorado Highway 67 north of Woodland Park, burning about a mile east into the Manitou Experimental Forest in Teller County.
"We are concerned that if the fire gets close to us we will have spot fires and burning embers," said Bill Sheldon, chief of the Westcott Fire Protection District, which called for voluntary evacuations. Palmer Lake is a former railroad town of about 2,000 people. The voluntary evacuation affects about twice that many area residents.
"It's definitely creepy," said Paul Strickland, a Palmer Lake resident who was loading two Harley Davidson motorcycles onto a trailer attached to his fully loaded car Wednesday morning. "I was waking up every two hours last night and smelling for smoke."
At a 9 a.m. briefing at the Tri-Lakes Fire Department, fire marshall Raymond Blake said if the fire crosses Rampart Range Road, a mandatory evacuation could be ordered depending on how fast the fire is moving. The department will also send out five brush trucks and two fire trucks to defend the community.
"We don't have a crystal ball, but if the wind picks up through some of this thick timber and brush, it could come real quick," Blake said.
Blake said a steady stream of cars have been leaving town looking like they're packed up for a summer camping trip. Most residents, he said, seem to be moving in with friends or relatives in Colorado Springs.
Tuesday evening, Steve Frye, the U.S. Forest Service's incident commander for the southern front of the Hayman fire, told about 500 nervous people who jammed the Woodland Park High School gym that firefighters had been in a house-to-house battle in the Westcreek area - at one point being surrounded by flames.
Ultimately, homes were lost and firefighters beat a full retreat.
"We've made a stand as tough as we can," said Frye. "Conditions are so volatile," he said. "We won't take chances with you or with our firefighters."
The Lo Lo Regulars from Missoula, Mont., were among the fire crews who pulled away from the line.
"This is the largest-scale fire I've seen, because you have columns reaching up to 30,000 to 40,000 feet," crew member Trevor Johnson said. "All the resources in the world couldn't stop it."
Frye didn't offer a lot of hope the 2,200 firefighters attacking the blaze from the north and south ends will have much success until the anticipated cold front moves in.
"We are going to be measuring success in small increments until we get a break from the weather," he said.
Clearly, the most intense battles were in the south end of the Hayman, but all was not calm in the north.
Torching trees sent helicopters scurrying across the north command to douse hot spots and keep the blaze at bay amid the worst weather possible for fire: hot, dry and windy.
"Every time we saw a torch, we hit it," said Gordon Warren, Forest Service spokesman. "And we really had our fingers crossed."
Like the crews on the south, the north command was keeping close watch on the weather, expecting shifting winds and unstable conditions as the cold front approaches.
"Wednesday will be a real test," Warren said. "Basically, we'll have the same weather as we did today. And it has created a real beast."
Keeping the fire west of Highway 67 is a top priority, and crews intended to work all night beating it back across the highway, which connects Woodland Park to Deckers.
Night crews also planned to use a fleet of nine bulldozers to dig a new trench around the northwest corner of Woodland Park to protect the town - and Colorado Springs below it. The bulldozers will attempt to dig a line 15 to 20 feet wide, three to four miles from town.
Teller County Sheriff Frank Fehn described his own fear when he confronted the blaze along Highway 67 and quickly evacuated the area.
"This monster goes where it wants," Fehn said as officials urged Woodland Park residents to be ready to evacuate.
In the towns below, people are holding their breath.
"Let's just pray," said Nikki McDonald, mayor of Palmer Lake, "that the wind changes direction."
Gazette staff writers Bill McKeown, Kimberly Lamke, Barry Bortnick, Kyle Henley, John Diedrich and Dave Phillips contributed to this report.
El Paso County plans for worse case
Hayman Fire may have been intentionally set
Fire Pilots willing to accept risks
As threat looms, choices become more difficult
BBS, "Tell Us Your [Fire] Stories"
Donations pour in for rural Fire Stations
Items needed by the Salvation Army Food Wagon:
Plastic or foam cups, Aleve or ibuprofen
(sealed/unopened), sponges, plastic knives, forks and
spoons, skinless chicken, hamburger patties, lunch
meats, condiments (ketchup, mustard, mayo),
hamburger/hot dog buns, olive oil, grated cheese,
canned vegetables and beans (larger cans are better), margarine, salt, "to go" boxes, eggs, potatoes, fruit, or
cash donations to Ute Pass Fire Relief Fund, 7855 Bluff Road, Cascade, CO 80809. For information, 684-9295.
Drop points:
Colorado Springs Fire Station 5, 29th Street and Colorado Avenue.
WalMart, 707 S. 8th Street, Colorado Springs
Java Junction, U.S. 24, Woodland Park
Woodland Park Volunteer Fire Department
(Northeast)
Divide Volunteer Fire Department
Lake George Volunteer Fire Department
4-Mile Volunteer Fire Department
There is a Volunteer Center in Littleton, on the corner of Colorado Blvd and Arapahoe that takes short applications and assigns people to areas. Their number is 303-779-9662. They are also a donation center for dropping off needed items.
The number to the Salvation Army in Castle Rock for volunteering there is 303-866-9280. They can set you up in either Castle Rock of Sedalia.
The number to the Salvation Army in Colorado Springs for volunteering there or probably in the Lake George area is 719-636-3891.
Prosecutors aren't buying the love letter story. It's not compatible with the fire marshall's findings...stay tuned.
Perhaps unrelated, but other arson fires have been set around here by sickos recently. Green Mtn Falls, a very small community at the base of Pike's peak had a rash of arsons (I think) last weekend. Sick. Really, really sick.
A new, Eastern Front of firefighters has been established to contian the fire from spreading to the east.
Last heard, the fire was headed for SW Douglas County and threatening parts of Palmer Lake & Monument. Much more population in these areas (plus Woodland Park, than in the areas which have already burned.
Please pray for our firefighters and these families affected. Thanks.
True. Woodland Park and Monument have many houses spread out among the trees. It could do a lot of damage there. Also, the fire is now just a bit west of the Air Force Academy, which is also spread out in the trees along the forest's edge. The major buildings might be protected by parking lots or grass fields, but there are forest areas all through the academy.
it seems the wind shifted and is coming from the east tonight. That's got to be good news for Palmer Lake, at least for tonight. Dry thunderstorms is just cruel punishment considering... but it looks like some rain out east at least.
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