Single Publication

Lowline Fire Final Update

Tuesday, August 15, 2023 – 10:00 a.m.

Type 3 Incident Management

Bryan Gaines, Incident Commander

Information Phone: GMUG Fire Information Hotline at (970) 874-6602

Special Note: At 7:00 a.m. tomorrow morning, command of the Lowline Fire will transition back to the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison (GMUG) National Forests’ Gunnison Ranger District. Unless conditions change, this will be the last update for the Lowline Fire.

Current Situation: The Lowline Fire remains at 1871 acres with 55% of the fire contained. The remaining perimeter of the fire, while not considered an official containment line, has remained cool and is holding along natural features such as creek beds, aspen groves and ridgelines.

The firefighting strategy can now transition to a long-term operational plan managed by the GMUG. Firefighting personnel remain working on the fire and are prepared for quick response should fire conditions change. These firefighters will continue to maintain observational and strategic attack capacity until the Lowline Fire is no longer considered a re-ignition risk for the area. This level of readiness could remain in place for the next several months, depending on future weather and environmental conditions such as wind, precipitation, and fuel moisture.

Incident Commander Theo Engel, Assistant District Fire Management Officer, will be taking command of the Lowline Fire on Wednesday. “Since the Lowline Fire was first reported at 8 a.m. on July 26, approximately 575 personnel have worked on this fire. The investment that these people, this community, and our partner agencies have put into Lowline over the past several weeks has been incredible and is deeply appreciated. We have an excellent plan moving forward to continue to protect this investment and support this community”.

For ongoing information on fires in the area, the public can continue to monitor the GMUG Fire Information Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/GMUGFireInfo, as well as the Lowline Fire’s InciWeb page:  https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/cogmf-lowline-fire.

Weather & Fuel Conditions: Over the next several days, the fire area will see a potential for increased moisture, primarily in the afternoon and later into the evening. Winds remain low, and nighttime temperature lows remain in the 40s. Forecasted moisture will make fuels less available to carry fire until a drying period occurs. Previous hot spots along the western edge of the fire have cooled and have limited potential to spread. While mixed conifer stands continue to periodically burn and put out minimal smoke, the areas of aspen stands continue to resist fire spread. For the final Smoke Outlook for this fire, please visit: https://outlooks.airfire.org/outlook/ed63b240

Evacuations: A pre-evacuation order remains in effect for residents along CR 727 along Mill Creek. No other evacuations or pre-evacuations are in place near the fire. For additional information on evacuations, see Gunnison County Emergency Management at www.gunnisoncounty.org. Sign up to receive emergency alerts and evacuation notifications at https://bit.ly/3QhZVZg.

Closures: The closure order for the Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre and Gunnison National Forests’ Gunnison Ranger District remains in effect. In the interest of public safety, fire officials ask visitors to be aware of fire personnel and avoid the area around Lowline Fire, especially the forest closure areas and pre-evacuation area along CR 727. CR 818 and CR 727 remain closed to the public and are for local traffic only.

The complete USFS closure order can be found here: https://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fseprd1129908.pdf.

The BLM temporary closure also remains. More information on that closure can be found here: https://on.doi.gov/45lN2le