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Daily Fire Update - September 11th
Quartz Ridge Fire
Publication Type: News 09/12/2023
QUARTZ RIDGE FIRE
September 11, 2023
Type 3, Incident Commander: Nate Hallam
Daily Update - 9:00AM
Highlights:
Both the Quartz Ridge and Bear Creek fires had minimal to moderate fire activity yesterday. The Bear Creek fire received a few rain showers, though less fell over Quartz Ridge. With increased moisture in the forecast, smoke will mostly be localized to the valleys nearest the fires, with moderate impacts to Pagosa Springs and the San Juan Mountains. However, the Colorado Department of Health is not issuing any Air Quality Advisories for the area today (9/11). Fire activity on both fires is expected to decrease as weather comes in this week.
Quartz Ridge Fire: 2,792 acres | 77% of objectives achieved | 68 personnel assigned
The Quartz Ridge Fire saw the most activity on the eastern side of the fire yesterday. Cloud cover prevented a mapping flight, so there is not a new acreage to report today. While little wetting rain reached the fire yesterday, it received 0.37” of rain overnight and increased moisture and humidities are expected to keep fire behavior minimal today. With structure protection operations completed, crews are now focusing on constructing a shaded fuel break as a contingency line to protect private property.
Weather: Relative humidities got as low as 20% yesterday but rebounded as afternoon showers and clouds increased over the fires. A surge of moisture will bring widespread showers and thunderstorms through at least Wednesday, with the greatest chance of wetting rains expected on Tuesday. This increased moisture will keep fire activity minimal.
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 Ridge Fire area are Quartz Meadows Rd (NFSR#684), Quartz Ridge Trail (NFST#570), and Quartz Creek Trail (NFST#571). The closed trails within the Bear Creek Fire area are Little Sand Trail (NFST #591) and Shaw Creek Trail (NFST#584).
