East Troublesome Fire up to 10% containment
Update noon: Fire officials are expecting little to no growth of the East Troublesome Fire as snow and cooler temperatures hit the area.
Incident Commander Noel Livingston said he predicts not having any problem fire behavior on Sunday and the focus remains structure protection in the corridor along US Highway 34 from Granby to Grand Lake.
Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin said the fire hasn’t damaged inside the town of Grand Lake proper, but has done damage in surrounding communities.
He added that the sheriff’s office is working to put together damage estimates, but won’t release preliminary numbers on the number of homes lost yet. Schroetlin said the sheriff’s office is working today to begin contacting homeowners about damage.
Deputies also are working with local contractors and plumbers to shut off water to houses in the evacuation zones to prevent pipes from freezing.
Schroetlin said 60 to 80 local professionals are being escorted by deputies to the houses that have requested aid via the sheriff’s office form for help. Since that form went live on Saturday, the sheriff’s office has received around 1,000 requests.
Original: Despite strong winds throughout the day Saturday, the East Troublesome Fire only grew to 192,560 acres and containment has increased to 10%.
Cooler temperatures and moderate fire behavior assisted fire crews in getting to all of the areas they needed to on Saturday. Incident Commander Noel Livingston called it a “good day for the firefighter and a good day for the community,” in a Sunday morning briefing.
Firefighters were able to build containment on the western and southern flanks of the fire, while structure protection continues around the Grand Lake area. However, wind grounded most aerial operations on Saturday.
“We’re very focused on working to get those to a condition to where people can get back into their homes,” Livingston said.
Sunday’s forecast includes snow, but early Sunday morning, the fire hadn’t seen any moisture. Cooler temperatures are predicted to roll in by Sunday evening, which should affect fire behavior, Livingston said.
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