Single Publication

Fire start date:   August 5, 2023 

Cause:  Lightning 

Location:  13 miles Northeast of Pagosa Springs, Colorado 

Incident Commander: 

Jay Kurth 

Management Team: 

NIMO Team 1 

Management: Suppression 

Fire size today: 1,663 acres  

Containment: 0% 

Completion: 53%  

Personnel: 145 

Evacuation Information: 

There are no current evacuations. Local residents should follow incident information for updates. 

Closures:  

• Quartz Meadows Rd (NFSR#685) 

• Quartz Ridge Trail (NFST#570) 

• Quartz Creek Trail (NFST#571) 

• https://tinyurl.com/roads-and-trails 

INCIDENT OBJECTIVES: 

• Firefighter and Public safety are the highest priority. 

• Protect private lands within East Fork San Juan River drainage, natural resources, cultural and historic sites, recreation assets, and critical infrastructure including powerlines and gas utility lines. 

Smoke from the Quartz Ridge Fire was visible in Pagosa Springs and surrounding areas Sunday but less so on Monday. Sunday’s fire behavior burned an additional 188 acres and the fire crossed to the east side of Quartz Creek. There was limited growth on the fire Monday due to more favorable weather and lower fire intensities. 

The wildfire is burning in steep terrain in the South San Juan Wilderness.  A combination of indirect and direct control lines is being utilized to accomplish multiple objectives of full suppression on accessible parts of the fire and confinement on parts that are remote and/or present high safety risks to firefighters. Overall, 53% of these objectives have been completed. 

The Multi-Mission Aircraft did not fly yesterday. 

YESTERDAY’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS: 

• Continued to evaluate terrain and potential areas for containment outside of wilderness boundaries and scouted for strategic areas for control. 

• Assessed the burned area on the east side of Quartz Creek for control features and strategies. 

• Initiated structure prep along the East Fork Road at the Silver Guard Station. 

TODAY’S PLAN: 

• Assess the burned area on the east side of Quartz Creek and the northern edge for control features and strategies. 

• Continue structure prep along East Fork Road at the Silver Guard Station. 

WEATHER:  

Today’s weather will be similar to yesterday with higher humidity's in the morning and a 30% chance of isolated thunderstorms in the afternoon. The temperatures will be in the high 70’s with 20 mph winds and gusts associated with the storms. Rain is predicted for Thursday.