Single Publication

Quartz Ridge Fire          

August 20, 2023 

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: 1,490 acres

Containment: 0%

Completion: 53%           

Personnel: 159

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

Latest Smoke Outlook: https://outlooks.wildlandfiresmoke. net/outlook/933fc4e4

 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.

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.

A Multi-Mission Aircraft flight was flown on Saturday evening. Results from the flight showed the majority of the heat remains in the southeast corner of the Quartz Fire. Fire activity is likely to increase today with the increase in winds and decrease in relative humidity.

YESTERDAY’S ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

• Continued to evaluate terrain and potential areas for containment outside of wilderness boundaries and scouted for strategic areas for control.
• San Juan hotshots constructed handline and cold-trailed around the larger spot fire along Quartz Creek in the northeast corner.
• Chipped the slash along the East Fork Road for approximately 2 miles making it less likely to ignite and sustain fire spread.
• Continued to implement structure protection on private lands.

TODAY’S PLAN:

• Continue the chipping of the slash along the East Fork Road.
• Construct fireline where needed around the spot fires with the San Juan and Pike hotshots including at the southeast corner of the Quartz Ridge Fire.
• Continue to build structure protection plans both logistically and operationally.

WEATHER:

The drying trend will continue today with a 2% chance of scattered showers and thunderstorms in the afternoon and evening. Temperatures could reach into the low 80’s. Wind speeds will increase due to the tropical system in California with gusts up to 25 mph.

Incident Information : https://tinyurl.com/mr37bhnr

Facebook : https://tinyurl.com/y87cycm4

Email :  2023.quartzridge@firenet.gov      

Information Line : 970-426-5370