Single Publication

Oak Ridge Fire Update

Saturday July 13, 2024

Type 3 Incident Management Organization

Pat Seekins, Incident Commander 

Location: Three miles northwest of Beulah, CO

Date Reported: June 22, 2024

Cause: Lightning

Size: 1,310 acres

Containment: 89%

Total Personnel: 80

On Friday, chipping operations progressed towards the east end of the fire and will continue over the next few days. Firefighters also started mechanical work with heavy equipment on the west side of the fire. The purpose of utilizing this type of equipment is for suppression repair to return the affected area to as much of a pre-existing condition as possible. 

Ground support also organized equipment in the fire area to prepare for a sling operation which will occur this morning. Sling loading is when helicopters transport packaged equipment used in the firefighting efforts to a designated area, which will be transported back to a fire storage facility. 

Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) drones recorded video footage from burnt areas. This data will be used to aid a Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team, which is arriving on Monday. A BAER team addresses post wildfire stabilization and other issues that may arise from a wildfire. The team focuses on public safety as well as ways to protect the landscape. 

Sunday night, the Oak Ridge Fire will be transitioning to a Type 4 Incident Management Organization. This will be comprised of a Type 4 Incident Commander and various area resources. The Oak Ridge Fire information board located at the Beulah Post Office parking lot will be removed Sunday morning. The last daily update will be Sunday morning.  

Weather & Smoke Information: Today we will see mostly clear skies with a slight chance of early afternoon showers. Those showers could produce winds up to 30 mph. Temperatures will rise to near 90 at lower elevations of the fire and continue through the weekend with critical daytime relative humidity between 10% and 15%.

The US Interagency Fire Air Quality Response Program daily smoke outlook report specific to the fire area may be found at https://outlooks.airfire.org/outlook/d9fa3c77       

Closures: The San Carlos Ranger District of the Pike and San Isabel National Forests issued an area, trail and road closure effective June 26, 2024. Go to www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/alerts-notices for the entire order.   

Evacuations: There are currently no evacuations from county sheriff offices due to the Oak Ridge Fire. 

Temporary Flight Restrictions: The is a 24-hour a day Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) over the fire area remains in effect. The TFR includes restrictions against private drones and all air incursions will be reported to law enforcement.   

OAK RIDGE FIRE INFORMATION   

Fire Information Phoneline:  719-315-1536 Time: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.   

Facebook: @OakRidgeFire2024   Email: 2024.oakridge@firenet.gov      

InciWeb: www.inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/copsf-oak-ridge-fire