High Park Fire: Day 6 Updates

Editor's Note: The High Park Fire started on Saturday, June 9th. Winds and high temperatures helped the fire rapidly spread. The blaze has grown from an initial 8,000 acres by the end of Saturday to an announced 52,000 acres by the end of Thursday. You can review our timeline of the fire in the High Park Fire archive.

Update 10:03pm

This will be the final update of the evening. Updates will be posted to KUNC.org when there are any additional developments with the fire. The latest estimate for the High Park Fire is 52,000 acres and 15% contained.

The latest infromation from the Larimer Sheriff can be found in this release.

Update 5:42pm

A new immediate evacuation order has been issued for the Glacier View area from Many Thunders Road south into the 12th filing.  This is for approximately 80 homes. This area includes:

• Meadow Mountain Drive
• Little Bald Mountain Court
• Grey's Peak Court
• Diamond Peak Court
• Little Twins Court
• Red Mountain Court
• Pingree Hill Court
• Rabbit Ears Court
• Bullrock Court
• Black Mountain Court

The roadblock is at Eiger and Many Thunder Mountain.  The information we have is that the fire crossed the road at Steven's Gulch.

Update 5:02pm via the Larimer Sheriff on Twitter

Update 4:25pm

Reporter Jessica McDonald has this update from this afternoon' media briefing:  The rough estimate of the High Park Fire has increased to 52,000 acres. 31 homes are confirmed to be severely damaged or destroyed, primarily in the Stratton Park area.

Nick Christensen of the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office cautions that the fire remains an active, non-contained fire, and that the number of damaged homes will climb.

The structure assessment is continuing and officials are informing homeowners about the status of their homes as they get the information. The priority is the residents, they will receive the information first then it will be released to others. Work is still ongoing on this front, expect the number of damaged properties to grow.

Update 3:35pm

On the heels of Boulder County and Larimer County extending their fire bans, including fireworks, the state has done the same. Governor John Hickenlooper has signed an order banning open burning and private use of fireworks state-wide.

There are some exceptions so it is worth reading the entire order at the Colorado Division of Emergency Management.

Update 3:16pm

Officials have been effusive in their praise of air support during the High Park Fire. KUNC's Nathan Heffel looks at the essential ingredient in an air campaign: red slurry.

Update 1:12pm

Evacuations have been lifted for the area of Big Bear Road, Bar D Ranch Road, south on the Buckhorn Road to the junction of the Masonville Road, northwest to include Alfalfa Way, Buckhorn Ridge Way and Running Brook Lane.

Update 1:07pm

The Larimer Sheriff is going to hold a public meeting in Glacier View tonight. 7:30pm at the Community Center Gate 8. Glacier View residents are encouraged to attend and get their questions answered.

Update 12:26pm

Earlier today we pointed you in the direction of a Denver Post article on the change to the Ride The Rockies race route. The Reporter Herald has gone +1 better, they put together a Google Map of the changed route.

Update 12:05pm

The AP has released video taken from an earlier press briefing from this week. This video was taken on June 13th.

http://youtu.be/RsDfFbo_PDI

Update 11:56am

The Larimer Sheriff just released an updated list of road closures. From the release:

Update 10:37am

Larimer County has launched a comprehensive website for the High Park Fire. Maps, information links, resources and checklists are available.

Update 9:28am

The Larimer Sheriff just released this map [.pdf] of the High Park Fire. Very detailed. Really shows the neighborhoods and areas we have been talking about if your are not from the area or following along out of state.

Update 9:24am via the Larimer Sheriff on Twitter

Update 9:21am

Today's morning briefing is coming up at 9:30am. You can stream it live via 9News. You can also follow reporter Grace Hood on Twitter for updates.

Update 8:25am via the Larimer Sheriff on Twitter

Update 7:57am

Larimer County has released a detailed map [.pdf] of the High Park Fire's boundary as of 10pm last night.

Update 7:54am

Here's a quick round-up this morning of news of the High Park:

• Ride The Rockies route revised for sixth stage due to High Park Fire (Denver Post)
• State parks to enforce counties' fire restrictions (Daily Camera)
• Dairy farm saves neighbors from fire (NCBR)
• Emotions collide with news of homes (Coloradoan)

Update 7:45am

Newstalk 1310 KFKA is reporting this morning that Larimer County Sheriff Exec. Officer Justin Smith has told them that the acreage of the High Park Fire might grow 'significantly' today.

KFKA further clarified this on Twitter:

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A small army is now fighting the High Park Fire with the total personnel count now up to 1263. The extra manpower will allow fire managers to transition to 24 hour operations. Air support continues to be an essential tool as well, water & retardant drops helped keep the fire to the south of Highway 14 in areas where it had not crossed it yet.

While it won’t directly affect the High Park Fire, there was some good news for the future of the air tanker fleet yesterday. President Obama signed a bill that would speed the contracting of new air tankers.

Some evacuees were allowed to return to their homes yesterday along Shoreline Drive and in the Bellvue area (from CR27E and to the east only). Evacuees must be credentialed to be allowed in the area. National Guard members from Colorado & Wyoming continue to man roadblocks leading into the fire zone. Fire managers will continue to monitor the area and make determinations when evacuations can be lifted. Possible areas under consideration for today include:

• Bonner Peak Ranch
• Missle Silo Road
• Mill Canyon
• Soldier Canyon

Again, these are areas of consideration – no additional evacuations have been lifted yet. We’ll update once fire managers announce any new information.

A pre-evacuation notice remains in place for the Glacier View Area.

The Ranch continues to be an evacuation center, but the county has also announced the opening of a new disaster recovery center. Larimer County will be opening the High Park Fire Disaster Recovery Center on Friday, June 15^th. The center will be at Johnson Hall at Colorado State University.