Calwood and Lefthand Canyon Fire Update
Saturday, October 24, 2020, 9 a.m.
Troy Hagan, Incident Commander
Current Situation: Containment of the CalWood Fire increased on Friday as most of the fire area experienced minimal activity through the day. Some heat and smoke were observed around both fires, but all containment lines held. Crews were able to increase containment and continue strengthening lines along the southern edge of the fire.
Today, a Red Flag Warning is in effect for high winds this afternoon through early Sunday morning as a cold front moves into the area. Firefighters are expected to take advantage of conditions ahead of this afternoon’s winds to continue building on yesterday’s successes. Priorities will be to focus on increasing containment by improving and mopping up lines around most of the fire’s edge. As the fire backs down towards Highway 7, firefighters are patrolling and improving lines along contained portions of the perimeter. Crews are scouting for opportunities to construct fire lines to prevent the fire’s spread up or down the South St.Vrain canyon.
The Lefthand Canyon Fire reached 100% containment on Thursday. Crews continue to mop up and patrol containment lines. Firefighters will be assigned to patrol fire lines and make improvements as necessary.
Weather & Fuel Conditions: A Red Flag Warning is in effect for both fire areas from Saturday morning at midnight until 3 a.m. Sunday morning due to stronger winds coming from the west starting around mid-afternoon. Relativity Humidity (RH) is expected to remain above 25% through the day. The windy and slightly drier conditions on both fires will enhance burning conditions on Saturday afternoon. Both fires may become active due to projected wind gusts of up to 45 mph on the ridgetops, 35 mph in the valleys, and a potential for up to 60 mph in the canyons.
Closures and Evacuations: The Boulder County Sheriff’s Office made modifications to some evacuation orders and evacuation warnings on Friday. For complete information on evacuations for both fires, please visit https://arcg.is/0Lq5fD or visit https://boulderoem.com.
The U.S. Forest Service has a temporary closure in place for all activities on Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests lands in Grand, Clear Creek, Jefferson, Gilpin, Boulder, and Larimer counties; for more information on these emergency closures, please visit https://go.usa.gov/x7CZJ for more information. Boulder County Parks and Open Space closed multiple properties to public use on Wednesday; for more information on these closures, please visit https://boco.org/BCPOSfireclosures.
Emergency Alerts: Boulder County has an emergency notification system that allows residents of the county and all cities within to be notified of emergency situations. Notifications can be received in a variety of ways, including cell and land line phones, by text and/or by email. To sign up for alerts, please visit www.Boco911Alert.com.
Temporary Flight Restrictions: Temporary Flight Restrictions are in place over the Calwood and Lefthand Canyon fires. Wildfires are a No Drone Zone. If you fly, we can’t. Whenever a drone is spotted near the fires, all aircraft will be grounded until the drone is confirmed as clear of the area. For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org.
Cause: Under Investigation
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