Firefighters double containment of Oak Ridge Fire; Pueblo County blaze now 50% contained
Two weeks after it was first reported, the Oak Ridge Fire burning northwest of Beulah was 50% contained Saturday after firefighters doubled the containment area on Friday. The containment is along the entire northern edge of the fire.
The fire’s acreage remained the same Saturday at approximately 1,193 acres.
According to a Saturday morning update from Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3, which is overseeing operations, firefighters began a strategic firing operation on the southeastern corner of the fire Friday night, which they began by using drip torches to fire and widen an existing containment line. A drip torch is a tool used in wildfire suppression to intentionally ignite fires by dripping flaming fuel onto the ground.
The operation’s goal is to help contain the fire in an area that’s been difficult to access and allow firefighters to “safely and effectively work and protect values at risk,” fire officials said in Saturday’s update.
What firefighters had planned Saturday
More strategic operations were planned for Saturday, as firefighters planned to use aerial ignition dropped from unmanned aircraft systems. Aerial ignition entails firefighters igniting fuels by dropping incendiary devices or materials from aircraft. In this case, firefighters plan to use plastic spheres that ignite approximately 30 seconds after they hit the ground.
“This operation will expand the burned fuels from the fire to the widened containment line. This strategy allows fire managers to have the fire in their control to best protect Beulah. If this firing operation proceeds today, there will be additional smoke in the area,” officials said Saturday.
Aside from the strategic firing operation, which fire officials said is expected to continue for one or two more days, fire managers planned to spend Saturday strengthening and improving containment lines. Much of the work planned for Saturday entailed chipping brush near those lines, with firefighters using chainsaws to remove lower tree limbs and brushy shrubs and then chipping the vegetation.
Smoke outlook for Saturday in the Oak Ridge Fire area
With the planned increase in strategic firing operations Saturday afternoon, the U.S. Interagency Wildland Fire Air Quality Response Program’s Smoke Outlook report for Saturday said smoke would possibly be visible in the Beulah area late in the evening.
“East winds will keep the smoke near the fire and to the southeast until winds change from the west,” the report stated.
The Canon City, Florence, Westcliffe, Wetmore, Pueblo, and Colorado City areas were expected to have “Good” air quality Saturday, with haze visible due to smoke from other fires.
What we know about the fire up to this point
The Oak Ridge Fire was caused by lightning and was first reported on June 22 about 3 miles northwest of Beulah.
No deaths, injuries, or property destruction have been reported as a result of the fire.
Evacuations were put in place June 24 for residents of Middle Creek Canyon Road, and the areas of Vine Mesa, Cascade Avenue, Pine Avenue and Beulah Highlands Road were placed under pre-evacuation status. The Middle Creek Canyon Road evacuation was lifted July 2. That area is now under pre-evacuation status as well.
Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team 3 assumed control of the fire on June 26.
More than 800 personnel have responded to the blaze at different points, and 731 people were involved in firefighting operations as of Saturday.
Pueblo community news: 'They took everything': Thieves steal benefits meant for Pueblo County residents in need
Chieftain Editor Zach Hillstrom can be reached at zhillstrom@gannett.com, or on X, at @ZachHillstrom. Support local news, subscribe to the Pueblo Chieftain at subscribe.chieftain.com
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Firefighters reach 50% containment on Colorado wildfire
