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<br />enhanced by old, narrow roads that often twist to dead ends.
<br />Access for emergency vehicles is impeded by limited
<br />ingress,egress. Vegetation is seldom cleared away from
<br />improvements to keep it "natural." Water for fire fighting
<br />must be trucked to the scene in fire tankers.
<br />
<br />B. Weather Conditions
<br />
<br />Before the fire, parts of Colorado were experiencing a long
<br />dry trend. Snowpack the previous winter was 50,75 percent
<br />of the nonnal average. Total precipitation from October
<br />1988-June 1989 was 20 percent below average. It was
<br />becoming a near drought but not yet as bad as 1977 or
<br />1934. The long,tenn dry conditions set the stage for serious
<br />and intense wildfires.
<br />
<br />Major wildfires began in April near Monument, Colorado
<br />- almost two months early. Fire activity diminished in
<br />May and resumed in June. Late June to mid,July saw
<br />numerous serious fires; Colorado's Western Slope was hit
<br />especially hard.
<br />
<br />Hot and dry weather was the rule over Colorado in late June
<br />and early July, and added to the already bad fire potential.
<br />From July I to 9, a major heat wave baked Colorado.
<br />Except for very few widely scattered thundershowers, there
<br />was no precipitation anywhere. Temperatures soared into
<br />the 90s in the high mountains and 100+ was common at
<br />lower elevations. Many Front Range communities set new
<br />temperature records with five continuous days of over 100
<br />degrees. Examples of highs during this heat wave were;
<br />Alamosa and Estes Park, 96; Durango, 102; Craig, 99;
<br />Longmont, Delta, and Northglenn, 105; Boulder, 101.
<br />
<br />Restrictions on open fires were put into effect by federal
<br />and state governments as additional wildfire prevention
<br />measures. The first restriction by Governor Romer was July
<br />7 for all counties west of the Continental Divide plus
<br />Jackson County due to the worsening conditions in western
<br />Colorado. Just before the fire on Sunday morning, July 9,
<br />several phone calls were exchanged about expanding the
<br />open fire bans to the Eastern Slope effective July 10. This
<br />ban was imposed by the Governor effective July 10 for all
<br />areas of Colorado west ofInterstate,25 to the Utah line plus
<br />Douglas, El Paso, Huerfano, and Las Animas county areas
<br />east of {,25.
<br />
<br />On the morning of July 9, high temperatures, a low relative
<br />humidity of less than 10 percent, and strong, dry up,canyon
<br />winds 15,25 miles per hour from the southeast hit the Front
<br />Range. Conditions for a fire disaster were set.
<br />
<br />C. Description o/the Event
<br />Around 12;30 p.m. on Sunday July 9,1989, an accidentally
<br />caused fire from an unknown source was started along
<br />Highway 119 near Sunnyside, about five miles west of
<br />Boulder. The first report to the county was a grass fire
<br />about 10 by 40 feet in size. The county's first alarm was
<br />simultaneous to Sugarloaf Volunteer Fire Department, US
<br />Forest Service, and Colorado State Forest Service at 12;43.
<br />Sugarloaf VFD personnel were uphill at the fire station
<br />preparing for a community picnic and immediately began a
<br />response down to the fire.
<br />
<br />The first fire equipment was on the fire scene at 12:55; the
<br />fire was reported to be 40 by 100 feet (about 1/10 acre) and
<br />spreading. At 12:59 Sugarloaf radioed for reinforcements,
<br />and five minutes later asked about the availabilities of
<br />helicopters or air tankers. The air tanker, normally 15
<br />minutes away at Jefferson County Airport, was in
<br />southwest Colorado working on a bad fire in Mesa Verde
<br />National Park. Its first arrival was an hour and a half away.
<br />Mutual aid requests to other fire departments began at 1:05,
<br />and a full county' wide mobilization was initiated at 1 :09.
<br />Evacuations of residents uphill from the fire began at 1:14,
<br />Fire control response was quick but still could not keep
<br />pace with the fire in the rugged terrain.
<br />
<br />Several more small fires in the county and a major wind
<br />shift at 2:30 worsened the situation. By then, the first air
<br />tanker retardant load was dropped on the fire, the Type 1
<br />interagency fire overhead team had been ordered, and 40
<br />fire departments were on the scene.
<br />
<br />In the first afternoon, homes and other improvements were
<br />destroyed by fire. No more were lost after 6:00 p.m. that
<br />day, but by then, 1500 acres had burned. At 9:30 p.m. the
<br />county signed fire control over to the State Forester which
<br />also enabled Federal Emergency Management Agency
<br />participation. Nationally, the fire was rated the number one
<br />wildfire priority in the nation.
<br />
<br />On July 10, the fire was still very hot and briefly jumped its
<br />firelines, but spread little because of fire control actions and
<br />less wind. Surrounding communities remained threatened
<br />all day. The fire was contained on July 11 and declared
<br />controlled on July 13.
<br />
<br />A total of 2086 acres burned with 54 percent being federal
<br />lands. On the private lands, 44 homes and numerous
<br />outbuildings and vehicles were destroyed. Many others
<br />were damaged. Still more improvements inside and near the
<br />fire were saved by fire control forces. Total damages to
<br />improvements were estimated to be in excess of $9 million.
<br />No serious injuries were reported and no fatalities occurred.
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