Single Publication

Bear Creek Fire

August 15, 2023

Bear Creek Fire start date: August 1, 2023

Mosca Fire start date: August 7, 2023

Location:  23 miles Northwest of Pagosa Springs, Colorado

Cause:  Lightning

Incident Commander: Jay Kurth

Management Team: NIMO Team 1

Management:  Suppression

Fire size today: Bear: 408 acres    Mosca: 7 acres

Containment:   0%

Personnel:  98

Evacuation Information: 

Weminuche Valley is under pre-evacuation notice. Local residents should follow incident information and updates.

Closures:

• Fire area closure
• Cloman Park in Pagosa Springs

Latest Smoke Outlook:

outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlook/933fc4e4 

INCIDENT OBJECTIVES:

• Firefighter and Public safety are the highest priority.
• Protect private lands within the Weminuche Creek drainages, natural resources, cultural and historic sites, recreation assets and critical infrastructure including powerlines and gas utility lines.

Cloudy weather and rainstorms prohibited a Multi-Mission Aircraft flight to obtain updated acreage for the Bear Creek and Mosca wildfires.  Yesterday’s scattered thunderstorms and cloudy weather meant no increase in fire activity and very little smoke.   

Bear Creek Wildfire: Firefighters have been unable to directly engage the fire due to the steep remote terrain and heavy fuel loading of dead standing and down trees. The potential for spread remains in Bear Creek towards the Little Sand and Shaw Creek trails. 

Mosca Wildfire: This wildfire is burning slowly in a remote area northwest of Bear Creek near Slide Mountain in steep terrain.

YESTERDAY’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Fire managers continued to use two masticators on the Mosca Road to the south of the fire to reduce fuels and to create a contingency line if that is needed.
• Crews in the Weminuche Valley area assessed risk level to private land/structures and developed and implemented structure protection plans.
• Local ground-fire resources continued to directly monitor fire growth and directional spread. These observations are critical to assess the probability of success with the current incident strategy.
• Pike hotshots were able to put start a handline around the Mosca wildfire.

TODAY’S PLAN:

• Continue fuels mitigation along the Mosca Road corridor with masticators.
• Utilize masticators to tie into a newly identified Forest Service Road.  
• Begin prepping the Weminuche Trail to the wilderness boundary as a. contingency line.
• Operational supervisors will continue scouting indirect control opportunities to the south along the Mosca Road, connecting that into the Weminuche Valley.
• Continue to collaboratively develop Management Action Points (MAP) with cooperators and stakeholders. MAPs are clearly specified incident conditions that, when reached, prompt a predefined fire management action or trigger the implementation of new strategies/tactics.
• Pike hotshots will work to complete the handline around the fire, monitor the fire and cut dead trees away from the fire perimeter.

WEATHER:

The weather trend continues to include thunderstorms and wetting rain (more than 1/10” of rain). The threat of afternoon thunderstorms will decrease each day as the week progresses. 

Incident Information: https://tinyurl.com/mrx4pp27

Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/mr2tpj69

Email :  2023.bearcreek@firenet.gov       

Information Line : 970-426-5370