Fires across Colorado

[mdeerjunkie]

woke up to flecks of ash on the grill cover this morning. i'm averaging about 140 miles away from 3 of the main fires up wind of me

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Same here, and I live in Denver.

 

[Buschy]

Fished Williams Fork Reservoir this weekend. The Williams Fork fire was burning within 10 miles of us and it was impressive. Prayers go out to the fire fighters working in those conditions!

 

[FranklinME]

Prayers sent for those in the area, I can't imagine.

 

[SandyCreek]

been scouting for my moose tag in 7,8,191..most of the units are closed now except for the northern ends. a lot of crews out making the fire lines a long ways from the fire.. if it burns to the lines its going to be a monster and practically the whole canyon. Don't really want to turn a once in a lifetime tag back but if they keep these closures not sure what else i can do

 

[TOGIE]

a lot of crews out making the fire lines a long ways from the fire.. if it burns to the lines its going to be a monster and practically the whole canyon.

i'd actually been thinking that too. i watched the update from the section chief on FB the other day. when he mentioned that they were basically building their indirect lines at red feather and considering crown point or pingree road for the others i was like holy shit, fires gotta like quadruple in size to reach those lines

 

[rwc101]

Went camping Friday and the difference in smoke Sunday morning was incredible.

 

[Dsnow9]

been scouting for my moose tag in 7,8,191..most of the units are closed now except for the northern ends. a lot of crews out making the fire lines a long ways from the fire.. if it burns to the lines its going to be a monster and practically the whole canyon. Don't really want to turn a once in a lifetime tag back but if they keep these closures not sure what else i can do

I would start with a call to the biologist and see their thoughts. Who knows maybe it will push them all into the north anyways.

 

[davinski]

The area of the Pine Gulch fire doesn't hold much besides some ranches in the valley floors and it sounds like those have been preserved so far. Beyond that, the country is mainly Pinion-Juniper, gas wells, and feral horses. By my amateur estimate from OnX data, I'd say the fire perimeter covers between 1/4 and 1/3 of the public land in GMU 31. Just about everyone in Grand Junction is able to see the fire in the Bookcliff ridgetops at night but it would have to switch direction and cross a lot of bare desert to get to town. It's a little surreal because it's been a couple weeks of that now.

Regarding the Grizzly Gulch fire, I agree with the poster above that the state desperately needs to solve the transportation issues that go with I-70 being the main east-west automobile corridor in the state. It's closed nearly weekly all year, not just winter, for one reason or another. People who move to CO always ask about survival prep, what to pack, etc. I always tell them that the chances of a Bear Grylls situation are small. The chances that they'll be stuck sitting, stopped, in their car on I-70 for hours are very very high, so plan accordingly.

Best of luck to all those in harm's way.

 

[Deleted member 28227]

The chances that they'll be stuck sitting, stopped, in their car on I-70 for hours are very very high, so plan accordingly.

Last year I got stuck in 6 hr standstills 5 or 6 different times, you definitely need to be prepared. Driving from Vail to Denver on anything less than a full tank of gas in the winter is not a great idea.

 

[TOGIE]

there are a lot of east west roads across the divide in this state, i don't think more will fix our main problems with i70

the problem is that the colorado rocky mountain ski resorts see about 24 million visits in a ski season, with the brunt of those visits taking place on resorts less than 20 miles from i70. not to mention, an interstate that, where it enters the foothills is surrounded by a metro area consisting of 3+ million people that like to ski, hike and hunt. further not to mention the level of interstate commerce that takes place on i70

so, unless we move the denver metro area somewhere else, or move the majority of the ski resorts somewhere else other than next to i70 building more passes across tundra will barely solve anything

the way i see it, unless you can build another i70 no more than 20 miles to the north or south of the current i70 there is no solution other than more lanes (which barely help) and a railway option that follows it

this state is depressing

 

[buffybr]

@wllm1313 , If it were RMNP, which is as sparse as it comes, and is rampant with beetle kill, would you say let it burn, or fight it? I understand the other ramifications, but at what point do we just accept nature as being nature. We want wolves , because they are a natural occurrence, but fight fires, many of which are lightning caused, with everything we have. Im having a hard time seeing the lines.

No, you don't want wolves! If a few move in on their own, that's one thing. But even then the wolves would need to be watched and controlled. And you definitely DON'T want the government to bring them in like they did in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, and then give them total protection.

Colorado has the largest elk herd in the world. Uncontrolled wolves would make short work of those elk. And how many millions of our Fish and Game budgets have been wasted in court costs fighting the greenies to be able to control the wolves.

 

[nrpate05]

Last year I got stuck in 6 hr standstills 5 or 6 different times, you definitely need to be prepared. Driving from Vail to Denver on anything less than a full tank of gas in the winter is not a great idea.

Agreed, this happens every year multiple times a year. Last year I did 6 hours from Denver to Silverthorne. A drive that normally takes an hour and change. Luckily I had filled up for the weekend and brought all food and drink with me as well as overnight gear. And perhaps most importantly, downloaded a ton of podcasts.

 

[davinski]

Not to go off on a tangent, but I don't want any more roads either. I think the east/west corridor time problem could be fixed other ways. Every time someone brings up the exorbitant light rail plan I remind them that we have a rail system from GJ to DEN. If they could just make the trip suck less and be more reliable, it would get more passenger use. I'm speaking as a GJ resident, but most people plan on the drive taking 4 hours if everything works right. If they could make the train trip take 5 or even 6 hours instead of the wildly unreliable schedule and 7+ hours that Amtrak currently takes, I think way more business people would take it since you can, you know, do business things instead of drive.

Also the Denver Air Connection from GJ to Centennial is darn nice, and generally pencils out for one person travelling for business. But it doesn't pencil out if you want to take 2+ people over there.

And personally, I think we've hit peak ski resort usage. For better or worse, people are figuring out other ways to recreate in the winter where they are not confined to the established resorts. They're still going in more and more numbers, but you can do other things without the lift ticket price and your gear investment pencils out pretty quickly.

Just one guy's two cents. This fire, smoke, ash, and no rain still sucks.

 

[JoltnJoe]

been scouting for my moose tag in 7,8,191..most of the units are closed now except for the northern ends. a lot of crews out making the fire lines a long ways from the fire.. if it burns to the lines its going to be a monster and practically the whole canyon. Don't really want to turn a once in a lifetime tag back but if they keep these closures not sure what else i can do

I’m assuming it’s a bull tag then... tough spot to be in. I have a muzz bull elk tag in 7,8,9,19,191 and have been watching closely as well. It’s indeed fairly disconcerting that the fire lines they are cutting are soooo far from the current blaze. Hopefully there’s some rain in the works, but we all know the whole area is a ticking time bomb with all the beetle kill. I just hope it all doesn’t burn to the ground at one time! Prayers to the firefighters, property owners, and critters!

 

[JFish]

I’ve been following this thread because I am driving out in a couple of weeks for my first hunt. I know a large portion of it is I-70. Where exactly are the closures, and is there anywhere you guys check for updates on it. I’d rather find another scenic route then be surprised 25 hours into a drive.

 

[marksjeep]

https://www.cotrip.org/home.htm

 

[Oak]

I’ve been following this thread because I am driving out in a couple of weeks for my first hunt. I know a large portion of it is I-70. Where exactly are the closures, and is there anywhere you guys check for updates on it. I’d rather find another scenic route then be surprised 25 hours into a drive.

Best information on closures of major thoroughfares is below.

COtrip Traveler Information Homepage

Reports regarding traffic incidents, winter road conditions, traffic cameras, active and planned construction, etc.

www.cotrip.org

 

[Oak]

Mark’s Jeep is faster than my old truck.

 

[SandyCreek]

looks like they are moving lines in on the cameron peak fire per the update this evening

 

[SandyCreek]

I’m assuming it’s a bull tag then... tough spot to be in. I have a muzz bull elk tag in 7,8,9,19,191 and have been watching closely as well. It’s indeed fairly disconcerting that the fire lines they are cutting are soooo far from the current blaze. Hopefully there’s some rain in the works, but we all know the whole area is a ticking time bomb with all the beetle kill. I just hope it all doesn’t burn to the ground at one time! Prayers to the firefighters, property owners, and critters!

cow tag..but with the number of applicants now and wolves coming it could be the only moose tag i can ever get