Forest Fires June 19, 2013

Morning found the fires to the west of South Fork, Colorado building on the clear skies and high winds. Crews have done an admireable job trying to contain and guide these fires in the last week but even man with all his tools and equipment is no match for the wind and flames sometimes.

The fires started in two locations. One up the West Fork of the San Juan River and had traveled primarily up through the wilderness portion of the forest. The second fire started at Windy Creek Pass south and east of Treasure Falls on Hwy 160, Wolf Creek Pass. Both were  believed to be caused by lightning strikes and the dead beetle kill timber made for a volatile fuel situation.

I had fished some up on Beaver Creek this morning with my Dad and there was no noticeble difference from yesterday. However, within a few hours of getting home, the smoke had increased astronomically and currently it looks very bad.

The winds are very high and gusting and that feeds the fire and flames I am sure. The western sky is dark and scarey now and we await news on possible evacuations in the area. The large amount of beetle kill along with the worst drought in history has combined to create dangerous conditions for all the mountain states.