CORTEZ JOURNAL TUEsdAy, JUNE 26, 2012
9A
ChANgE
Throwing everything at the fire From Page 1A were very impressed with the work done by the local teams on the blaze, which has charred an estimated 8,300 acres. “I’ve been fighting fires around this country and on international assignments for 37 years and the best firefighting I’ve ever seen is what the locals did here the past two days,” Deputy Incident Commander Jay Esperance told a crowd of roughly 300 people at a community briefing at Mancos High School Monday morning. “They deserve a lot of credit for what they have done to protect you and your property.” Craig Beckner, operations section chief for Team C, said the crews on the ground are going to continue to work the fire in much the same way as Team III, with priorities on structure protections and firefighter safety. “Team III was great and did a lot of good work and we have really just tied in to that and kept moving on,” he said. On Monday, crews were focused on point protection and structure protection and adding to fire lines begun by Type III teams. Heavy equipment has been brought in to dig lines between the fires and local homes and ground crews are working with hand tools to expand on existing lines or dig new trenches. “We’ve got hand crews with shovels working to dig lines and expand scratch lines,” Hermanson said. “They are digging to mineral soil and creating lines 8 to 10 inches wide, which will stop four to five foot flame lengths, as long as the flames aren’t laying down. We are utilizing dozers and air resources and everything we have to fight this fire.” Monday evening, there was still 10 percent containment of the blaze, which began Friday afternoon in Weber Canyon, three miles south of Mancos. In terms of resources, crews and equipment on the ground were not enough to fight the scope of the fire, Esperance and Hermanson said Monday. “We don’t have enough resources,” Hermanson said. “We’ve pushed for them and we’ve ordered a lot of resources, but right now we don’t have them.” According to the Incident Information System, there are currently eight active wildfires in Colorado, all of which are demanding resources to battle flames. “We are really short on resources right now,” Esperance said. “There are so many fires burning in the state there just aren’t enough resources to go around.” However, due to the size and location of the Weber Fire, the local blaze has been ranked as the thirdhighest wildfire priority in the nation, behind the High Park Fire in northern Colorado and the Waldo
“I’ve been fighting fires around this country and on international assignments for 37 years and the best firefighting I’ve ever seen is what the locals did here the past two days.” Jay Esperance Deputy Incident Commander shAUN sTANLEy/dURANgO hERALd
A SkycrAne firefighting helicopter banks hard as it delivers it’s load of water along the west ridgeline of Elks Springs Ranch subdivision south of U.S. 160 Saturday afternoon in the continuing fire fighting efforts to contain the Weber fire that started Friday south of Mancos.
WIlDFIRE SEaSon There are a number of active fires burning in Colorado as of Monday morning. Here’s a look at a few. The Weber Fire in Mancos started June 22 and has burned 8300 acres. ■ The Waldo Canyon Fire near Manitou Springs has burned more than 3,500 acres with zero percent containment. The fire started on June 23. About 450 personnel are fighting the blaze. No structures have burned in this blaze. ■ The High Park Fire near Fort Collins is the secondlargest wildfire in Colorado history. The blaze has scorched more than 130 square miles and was just
55 percent contained on Monday. ■ The Little Sand Fire: It has burned more than 21,000 acres with 31 percent containment. The fire is burning 13 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs and started on May 13. The cause of the fire was lightning. ■ The State Line Fire near the New Mexico stateline south of Durango grew to 350 acres with 20 percent containment. The fire started on the afternoon of June 23. ■ The Treasure Fire near Leadville is burning 320 acres with only 10 percent containment. The fire started on June 23.
■ The containment of the CR 102 Fire in Elbert County was changed from 100 percent contained to 75 percent contained. The fire has burned 300 acres and caused 100 people to be evacuated. The fire broke out Sunday afternoon. ■ In New Mexico, a lightning-caused wildfire that destroyed 242 homes and businesses is 90 percent contained. The 69-squaremile fire near Ruidoso began June 4. The largest wildfire in state history was 87 percent contained, having burned more than 464 square miles after two blazes merged on May 16.
Canyon Fire, in Manitou Springs. The prioritization of the fire means resources will soon start flooding the area, according to Esperance and Hermanson. “Being that high we will be getting resources shortly,” Esperance said. “You can except incident command at the (Montezuma
County) fairgrounds to begin to resemble a small city. We are just going to work to hold our own until we get those resources.” Hermanson said additional fire engines and air tankers are on their way to the Weber Fire, and Beckner said locals can expect to see an influx of fire per-
sonnel. As of Monday, there were 240 people on scene fighting the Weber blaze. “We are throwing everything we have at this fire and we will be here until it is contained and we can safely turn it back over to the Type III team,” Hermanson said. This Type II team will
is still very active and there is no estimation as to when the battle against the Weber Fire will be finished. “This is still a serious fire,” Beckner said. “There is plenty of fuel left to burn.” An information hotline has been established at incident command. For information, call 605-3817232. Information is also available at inciweb.org.
only be on the scene for a total of 14 days. If after that time, the fire is not ready to be turned back over to local fire crews, a second Type II team will be called in. Officials cautioned that looks can be deceiving and though weather conditions have cooperated someReach Kimberly Benedict what in the past few days at kimberlyb@cortezjourwith calmer winds, the fire nal.com.
Sleeping Under the Stars Experience Mesa Verde’s unspoiled beauty by spending your nights at Morefield Campground. Here, comfortable camping in a glorious canyon setting is just four miles from the park entrance. Start your day with an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast at Knife Edge Cafe located in Morefield Village. Obtain information about bus tours and scenic hiking trails departing from the campground. 2012 Season Dates: May 10 - October 14
• DO YOU FEEL THE NEED TO BE OF SERVICE TO YOUR COMMUNITY? • DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE SOME IDEAS TO IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNITY? • HAVE YOU BEEN TOLD YOU ARE A BORN LEADER?
If you answered YES to any of the above, then APPLY FOR THE VACANT POSITION ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS FOR THE MONTEZUMA COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT. Applicants must be a registered elector of the district and at least 18 years of age and are invited to submit their letter of application and resumes to: MONTEZUMA COUNTY HOSPITAL DISTRICT P.O. BOX 1034 CORTEZ, CO 81321 DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS FRIDAY, JULY 6, 2012.
Holiday Advertising Deadlines Display ads Thursday July 5th Cortez Journal Deadline: Monday July 2nd 2:00 p.m.
Tuesday July 3rd Mancos Times Deadline: Friday June 29th 2:00 p.m.
Classified Ads Thursday July 5th Cortez Journal Deadline: Tuesday July 3rd Noon
Tuesday July 3rd Mancos Times Deadline: Monday July 2nd Noon
Mancos Times will publish July 3rd