Single Publication

QUARTZ RIDGE & BEAR CREEK FIRES

September 14, 2023                                                          

Type 3 Team, Incident Commander: Nathan Hallam

Daily Update – 9:00 AM

This update will continue to occur every other day unless significant activity occurs.

Highlights: Precipitation fell over the Bear Creek and Quartz Ridge Fires the past 48 hours.  The relative humidity remained above 80%. Both fires had minimal fire behavior observed over the past two days with light smoke showing within the perimeter. Cloud cover has hindered our ability to gather accurate infrared flight information to calculate updated acreages; so reported acreage continues unchanged.

Quartz Ridge Fire:  2,792 acres | 77% of objectives achieved | 59 personnel assigned

Firefighting crews continue to make progress on work being done near East Fork Road. They are creating and improving a shaded fuel break. They anticipate continuing this project along the 684 road for another three shifts   Rainfall totals over the Quartz Ridge Fire the past 48 hours measured 1.12".

Bear Creek Fire:  1090 acres | 83% of objectives achieved | 22 personnel assigned

The Bear Creek fire received 1.74” of precipitation over the past 48 hours.  Road conditions are still muddy and slick making access a bit more difficult until the rain slows. Firefighters were able to observe portions within the fire perimeter and determine the fire activity as minimal with light smoke visible. Fire crews will continue to assess, protect, and mitigate hazards to values at risk within the Weminuche Valley.

Weather: Chances for rain showers and scattered thunderstorms will continue through today. Friday is expected to see a decrease in storms and rain totals. A little cooler and dryer is forecasted beginning on Saturday and continuing through the weekend.

San Juan National Forest Temporary Closures:  Closure orders are in effect and additional information can be found here: Quartz Ridge Closure and Bear Creek Closure. Roads and trails within the Quartz Fire area are Quartz Meadows Rd (NFSR#684), Quartz Ridge Trail (NFST#570), Quartz Creek Trail (NFST#571). The trails within the Bear Creek Fire area are Little Sand Trail (NFST #591) and Shaw Creek Trail (NFST#584).