What began as an illegal burn on Sunday, Aug. 10, turned into a 75-acre wildfire that prompted the mandatory evacuation of 144 residential structures for roughly 70 hours.
Archuleta County Sheriff Mike Le Roux noted that, while the incident was paged out as a possible structure fire, it was ultimately not a structure fire and began through an illegal burn.
He explained it was illegal due to being unpermitted and taking place during a Stage 1 fire ban.
He added the incident is still under investigation, and no additional details were released.
The event, the Oak Fire, began on Sunday, Aug. 10, with the first call at about 1:15 p.m.
By 2:28 p.m., an evacuation order had been issued for residents within 1 mile of 38 Spruce Circle. That order was then expanded to include the Elk Park subdivision.
According to Le Roux, 320 parcels were included in the mandatory evacuation zone, which included the Oak, Simmons and Elk Park areas.
The zone included approximately 456 building footprints, he explained, and 144 residential structures.
He noted personnel knocked on every door in the evacuation zone, noting that an estimated 300 people were displaced, but that the county would have a better idea of the numbers as property owners re-entered the area.
The Humane Society of Pagosa Springs had nine cats and one dog due to the evacuations, and four horses were evacuated to the Archuleta County Fairgrounds.
About 20 people checked into the American Red Cross evacuation shelter that opened at Pagosa Springs High School to use the facilities, he noted, with about eight sleeping there.
He stated a handful of people refused to evacuate.
A pre-evacuation notice for the area stretching along U.S. 160 to North Pagosa Boulevard and Martinez Canyon was issued at 5:29 p.m. that evening.
At 8:20 p.m. that night, it was announced that Gov. Jared Polis had verbally declared an emergency to support response efforts for the fire and authorized the use of the Colorado National Guard as needed.
“The incident escalated rapidly, exceeding local Fire Department and County capacity, and the Sheriff requested that the Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) approve the incident as a State Responsibility fire,” a press release from the state explains. “Besides local, county, and federal agencies, DFPC, the Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management (DHSEM), and Colorado State Patrol are all assisting in some capacity.
“With the disaster declaration, the State Emergency Operations and Resource Mobilization Plans are activated and DHSEM coordinates the state response through management of the State Emergency Operations Center and deployment of field operations staff to directly support county emergency managers with consequence management. DFPC is leading the incident management and suppression efforts in conjunction with the other Department of Public Safety Divisions.”
According to Emergency Management Commander Roy Vega, in addition to the ground resources from multiple agencies, the firefighting efforts on Aug. 10 included a Type 1 helicopter, a Type 2 helicopter, five large air tankers, air attack (which flies above and is in charge of all the aircraft and provides eyes in the sky) and a lead plane (which flies in front of the air tankers to lead them and show them where to drop retardant).
Vega noted two additional helicopters were available Aug. 11-13, but were not launched.
The morning of Monday, Aug. 11, the Archuleta County Sheriff’s Office noted that one small barn, one pump house, one pergola, one carport and a camper trailer had been identified as having significant fire damage.
On Wednesday morning, Le Roux reported that, at that point, personnel had not identified any residential structures lost, though some may have internal smoke damage.
The pre-evacuation order was lifted at 7:29 p.m. on Monday, Aug. 11, with the evacuation order being lifted at 11:45 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 13.
By the numbers
As of the evening of Tuesday, Aug. 12, the fire was 75 acres and had a current estimated cost of $2 million.
At that point, resources on the fire included 107 personnel and 60 vehicles, and 31 retardant drops had been made.
Containment as of Tuesday evening, Aug. 12, was at 47 percent.
County commissioners
discuss fire
During an Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners (BoCC) work session on Tuesday, Aug. 12, County Manager Jack Harper provided an update on the resources used in response to the Oak fire.
Harper explained that the county’s Road and Bridge Department had been providing five water tender trucks since Sunday when the fire started.
He reported Road and Bridge crews have not been able to keep up with their regularly scheduled work.
“So, by providing those water tender trucks, they’re not really able to do their regular road work,” Harper said, explaining the crews still have plenty of road projects to complete but are unable to while using the water tender trucks for the fire.
He noted that the Road and Bridge Department also responded by using a bulldozer and skid steer to help cut fire lines.
Harper also explained that the reasoning for reduction of the reported size of the fire from 150 acres down to 75 acres, is due to infrared mapping that occurred Sunday night showing heat sources.
Harper commented on support received from surrounding jurisdictions, noting that crews from South Fork and San Juan County, N.M., helped respond to the fire.
“So, very thankful for the response we’ve gotten,” he added.
Harper then explained that the state “took over” the fire on Sunday night, and that Polis requested help from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
He noted that a Fire Management Assistance Grant was awarded, which means that “75 percent of all expenditures will be picked up by FEMA.”
Commissioner Veronica Medina expressed thanks for numerous community partners and businesses that stepped up to provide meals and other donations for those displaced by the fire evacuation orders.
Harper also noted that multiple individuals have stopped by county offices to offer some sort of donation.
Commissioner Warren Brown explained that he received calls from surrounding town and county officials, and that Congressman Jeff Hurd and Sen. Michael Bennet’s office both assisted with the FEMA grant request.
“It’s interesting; it’s also a reminder of why many of us live here. Despite whatever our differences may be at any given time, when there’s something that’s significant happens, all of those divisions go away and the community comes together,” Brown said.
He also commented on the “outpouring” of individuals that were out and wanting to help at U.S. 160 and Oak Drive when people were evacuating.
“It was pretty impressive,” he said, adding, it’s a “good reminder, this is why we live here, the most of us.”
Commissioner John Ranson mentioned that it was “nice” to see a bipartisan effort in getting the FEMA grant awarded, also commenting that “just inside the community everybody is pulling together and that’s what this county’s all about.”
He noted that he “hates” to see things like this fire occur, but you “really see the heart and soul when times get tough.”
Ranson also praised Le Roux’s efforts in coordinating a well-structured response to the incident.
“It’s a really wonderful feeling that people care and they’re willing to help however they can,” Medina added.
She noted that the Colorado State University Extension office and the Humane Society of Pagosa Springs also offered assistance and places to shelter animals.
“We’re all in it because we care for this community,” Medina said.
randi@pagosasun.com
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