East Troublesome Fire evacuations remain in place as blaze moves toward Hwy 125
Courtesy US Forest Service
Update 8:30 p.m.: Firefighters spent the day Sunday working to ensure the Big Horn Park subdivision is safe from the East Troublesome Fire.
In a Sunday evening update, the incident commander on the fire said crews were working to protect the structures in the neighborhood on the west side of the fire.
The incident commander also shared that crews also focused on building the southern containment line. He said crews may be able to contain the southern edge of the fire to Elk Mountain in the next few days.
Indirect line is in the process on the north of the fire, while aerial operations try to prevent growth on the east side of the fire, which has spotted about 2.5 miles from Highway 125.
However, the majority of the resources have been occupied with the southern containment line, according to the incident commander.
Evacuation and pre-evacuation orders remain in place and Grand County Sheriff Brett Schroetlin said evacuation orders in the Big Horn Park subdivision will be reevaluated on Monday.
Other evacuation areas, including those around Highway 125, remain in place likely through Wednesday. Highway 125 will also remain closed.
Original: The East Troublesome Fire continued spreading north and east overnight Sunday, growing to 12,655 acres.
The fire, which started Wednesday afternoon, remains 5% contained and, now, 211 personnel are working to quell the flames, up from 152 on Saturday. The cause is still under investigation.
On Sunday, crews plan to secure anchor points to the west using retardant line, dozer lines and road systems. Aerial operations dropping water and retardant will continue as weather allows.
The fire is now established east of Searight Mountain and the Corral Peak areas.
Work creating indirect lines on the northern edge of the fire will also continue today.
Firefighters will also be working along Highway 125 and the Sawmill Gulch corridor to protect structures.
Penny Bertram, the spokesperson for the fire, said the needed equipment and personnel are available for fire activity throughout the day.
With Red Flag conditions predicted throughout the day, including 25 mph sustained winds and up to 35 mph gust and 20% relative humidity, fire behavior is expected to be active.
Bertram added that early morning cloud cover helped keep the fire from spreading quickly and cloud cover throughout the day will be important to fire behavior.
According to fire crews, the blaze is spreading at mile to a mile and a half per five hours east towards Highway 125 and the fire may reach the highway by tonight.
High fire activity means the flames will likely produce a lot of smoke on Sunday, creating extremely low visibility around Highway 125.
Evacuation and pre-evacuation orders remain in place. Highway 125 remains closed from Granby (milepost 0) to milepost 27.
All public lands north of Hot Sulphur Springs to Willow Creek Pass and east to US Highway 34 remain closed.
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