*News Release - Fire restrictions on the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests & Thunder Basin National Grassland have been fully rescinded.

- The Middle Fork Fire closure area has been downsized to better reflect current fire activity. Order, Map

- The change has opened some National Forest south of the fire, including the Elk Park Road (Forest Road 314) area, and then everything east of the Continental Divide.

- There is now no closure in Jackson County for the Middle Fork Fire.

Please visit the new Facebook Page for the Middle Fork Fire at:

https://www.facebook.com/Middle-Fork-Fire-Information-105456501354071/

United States Department of Agriculture

(STEAMBOAT SPRINGS, Colo.) October 19, 2020 – Unprecedented wildfire activity and unsafe Forest conditions have prompted an inter-agency law enforcement effort to address fire restriction violations across multiple counties in northwest Colorado.

Stage II fire restriction prohibitions can be found on both the Routt National Forest and Arapaho National Forest web sites. Restricted activities include the use of charcoal grills and barbecues, coal and wood burning stoves and sheepherder’s stoves and includes use in developed camping and picnic grounds. Wood burning stoves within wall tents are not exempted and are prohibited.

Additional information may be found on our website or you can follow the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forests and Thunder Basin National Grassland on Twitter, @FS_MBRTB.

Middle Fork Fire Fact Sheet-10/14/2020
Acres: 19,782 
Containment: 0%                                                                                                   
Incident Commander: Jeramy Dietz, Type 3 IMT
Fire Information phone line: 970-439-4725                                            
Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7153/

Today’s Situation:  The major concern for firefighters today is the predicted 45 mph wind gusts over the fire this afternoon.  Additional firefighting resources arrived on scene of the fire yesterday, and continued to build containment lines and extinguish hot spots where safe to insert crews.  Structure protection measures were completed in the Big Creek area, and crews there will continue to monitor fire activity and scout opportunities to build and improve containment lines.  Aircraft will continue to drop water on the fire as weather conditions allow.  Recent precipitation and snow over the fire area is assisting firefighters with suppression efforts.  Firefighters are anticipating forecasted strong winds over the fire area today, and are focusing suppression tactics on areas of the fire that allow for safety of crews. 

Please be aware of additional trails and roads that are included in the Middle Fork Fire Public Safety Closure Order. To view the order and closure map, please visit inciweb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7153/.  Please avoid the closure area to allow firefighting resources to safely travel to and throughout the incident to perform suppression operations.

Weather: Today- Mostly sunny skies with highs of 56-61 degrees and relative humidity of 22-27%. Winds out of the west at 15-20 mph by 10:00 am increasing to 15-25 mph with gusts to 45 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight- Clear night skies with lows between 22-27 degrees and relative humidity of 53-58% with winds out of the west at 12-18 mph with gusts to 25 mph.

Fire Behavior:  Due to strong winds in the fire area, moderate fire behavior with some torching, flanking, and backing fire towards the northeast, northwest and southeast is possible.

Firefighting Resources: Approximately 161 personnel are assigned to the fire, including five helicopters, two single engine airtankers, one air attack aviation supervision module, two hotshot crews, five engines, and multiple overhead positions.

Evacuations: There are no evacuation or pre-evacuation orders in effect for Routt County. Pre-evacs are in place in Jackson county for Rainbow Lakes, Aqua Fria, as well as Teal and Tiago Lakes areas. This is not intended for the Rainbow Lakes Community. That notification from Jackson County was primarily made for hunters, and ranchers with cattle in those areas. Not all management action points stimulate evacuations, however if the fire were to reach any pre-identified management action points that are evacuation related, it would trigger Routt and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office to initiate pre-evacuation orders through their reverse-911 system. To sign up for alerts, visit http://routtcountyalerts.com or https://jacksoncountyor.org/emergency/Resources/Citizen-Alert. The county provides tips for wildfire preparedness, including planning for pets and livestock, on their website at http://www.co.routt.co.us/309/Fire-Safety-Tips-for-Rural-Residents.

Fire Restrictions: Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in effect in Routt and Jackson counties, on all the Routt National Forest, and across much of Northwest Colorado.  For additional information, please visit the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/mbr/home

Middle Fork Fire Fact Sheet                                                                           10/13/2020
Acres: 19,305                                                                                                     Incident Commander: Jeramy Dietz, Type 3 IMT
Fire Information phone line: 970-439-4725                                                Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7153/

Today’s Situation:  Increase in acreage is due to more accurate mapping from a recon flight completed yesterday evening.  The major concern for firefighters today will be 18-35 mph wind gusts this afternoon.  Additional firefighting resources are arriving today to assist with the fire.  A Type 1 handcrew, engines, and other equipment are on order.   Aircraft will continue to drop water on the fire as weather conditions allow. Please be aware of additional trails and roads that are included in the Middle Fork Fire Public Safety Closure Order. To view the order and closure map, please visit inciweb at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7153/.  Please avoid the closure area to allow firefighting resources to safely travel to and throughout the incident to perform suppression operations.

With the recent snow and precipitation received over the fire, firefighters will take advantage of decreased fire behavior and continue building and improving containment lines and extinguishing hot spots where safe.

Weather: Today- Mostly sunny skies with highs near 65 degrees and relative humidity of 16-21%. Winds out of the west at 8-12 mph by 10:00 am increasing to 12 to 35 mph in the afternoon.

Tonight- Clear night skies with lows between 38-43 degrees and relative humidity of 12-18% with winds out of the west at 12-18 mph with gusts to 25 mph.

Fire Behavior:  Due to strong winds in the fire area, moderate fire behavior with some torching, flanking, and backing fire towards the northeast, northwest and southeast is possible.

Firefighting Resources: Approximately 146 personnel are assigned to the fire, including five helicopters (three Type 1, one type 2, and one Type 3), two single engine airtankers, and a fixed-wing air attack to help coordinate aerial operations.

Evacuations: There are no evacuation or pre-evacuation orders in effect for Routt County. Pre-evacs are in place in Jackson county for Rainbow Lakes, Aqua Fria, as well as Teal and Tiago Lakes areas. This is not intended for the Rainbow Lakes Community. That notification from Jackson County was primarily made for hunters, and ranchers with cattle in those areas. Not all management action points stimulate evacuations, however if the fire were to reach any pre-identified management action points that are evacuation related, it would trigger Routt and Jackson County Sheriff’s Office to initiate pre-evacuation orders through their reverse-911 system. To sign up for alerts, visit http://routtcountyalerts.com or https://jacksoncountyor.org/emergency/Resources/Citizen-Alert. The county provides tips for wildfire preparedness, including planning for pets and livestock, on their website at http://www.co.routt.co.us/309/Fire-Safety-Tips-for-Rural-Residents.

Fire Restrictions: Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in effect in Routt and Jackson counties, on all the Routt National Forest, and across much of Northwest Colorado.  For additional information, please visit the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest website at https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/mbr/home

Notice:

• Please see below for the area closure order and map for the Middle Fork Fire on the Routt National Forest.
• The closure area has been right-sized to better reflect threats based on containment from fireline construction and snow cover.
• The closure area includes a portion of the Park Range, Mt. Zirkel Wilderness in Jackson and Routt Counties, Colo.
• It was developed based on firefighter/public safety and other values at risk.
• Official source of information for this fire is InciWeb, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/7153/.
• Twitter is also being utilized to distribute links and messages via the official Forest account, @FS_MBRTB.

Middle Fork Fire Fact Sheet                                                                                                           10/10/2020     
Acres: 17,191                                                                                                 Incident Commander: Jeramy Dietz, Type 3 IMT
Fire Information phone line: 970-439-4725                                             Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7153/

Today’s Situation: The Middle Fork Fire has burned out of the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness in a couple of places along the south and west flanks. The recent growth is  mostly north and northwest, with minor growth south due to winds out of the south pushing the fire back onto itself. Management action points crossed have stimulated the Team to enact plans in place that use more direct tactics. Four fixed wing airtankers are scooping water out of Lake John and attacking the eastern and southern flanks. Please do not boat on Lake John so firefighting efforts can continue uninterrupted. Several more resources were ordered and are starting to arrive to act swiftly. There will be more engines and other equipment along or near the Buffalo Pass road, Dry Lake Trailhead (TH), Summit Park TH, Elk Park TH, and NFSR 314; please give firefighters space to do their work.  The helicopters continue to drop water on the fire along the southwest, west and northwest flanks of the fire. Fire managers and the National Forest have increased the extent of the area closure to increase safety of public and firefighters. Please be aware of the additional trails and road that are closed now. Fire behavior today will continue to be very active until the cold front arrives. The incoming cold front is driving winds today with cooler weather on Sunday and the possibility of precipitation. Once the front moves through, temperatures will drop considerably which will cause humidities to rise and fire behavior to calm down. However, the extended forecast is predicting temperatures to return to the 70s by end of next week. There may be smoke in the Steamboat Springs area resulting from the Mullen, Cameron Peak and Middle Fork fires.

Today is opening day of first rifle season, so please be cautious when recreating near the area closure for your safety and the safety of the firefighters.

Weather: Mostly sunny skies with highs between 69-74 degrees and relative humidity of 14 - 19%. Winds are out of the south at 10 mph increasing to southwest winds with gusts around 25 mph in the afternoon. Mostly clear night skies with lows between 35-40 degrees and relative humidity of 47-52% with southwest winds at 10-12 mph.

Fire Behavior: Extreme with crowning and short-range spotting events in timbered areas.

Firefighting Resources: Approximately 104 personnel are assigned to the fire, including five helicopters (three Type 1, one type 2, and one Type 3), four single engine airtankers, and a fixed-wing air attack to help coordinate aerial operations.

Evacuations: There are no evacuation or pre-evacuation orders in effect. Not all management action points stimulate evacuations, however if the fire were to reach any pre-identified management action points that are evacuation related, it would trigger Routt County Sheriff’s Office to initiate pre-evacuation orders through their reverse-911 system. To sign up for alerts, visit http://routtcountyalerts.com. The county provides tips for wildfire preparedness, including planning for pets and livestock, on their website at http://www.co.routt.co.us/309/Fire-Safety-Tips-for-Rural-Residents.

Forest Closure: Routt National Forest has issued an area closure. See the Closure Map and Closure Order posted on Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7153/ for further details.

Fire Restrictions: Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in effect in Routt and Jackson counties, on all of the Routt National Forest, and across much of Northwest Colorado.

Middle Fork Fire Fact Sheet                                                                                                         10/6/2020  
Acres: 8,875                                                                                         Incident Commander: Kelly Boyd, Type 3 IMT
Fire Information phone line: 970-439-4725                                                  Inciweb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7153/

Today’s Situation: The Middle Fork Fire continues to burn along the perimeter with minimal acres consumed. Moderate fire behavior is expected today with isolated torching in timber and creeping or backing fire along the ground. Full suppression tactics employed include using helicopters to keep fire growth in check using bucket drops of water to cool the intensity of the small group torching has been effective over the last several days and will continue. Temperatures are projected above normal through the extended forecasted with no chance of precipitation. There may be smoke in the Steamboat Springs area in the morning due to shifting winds but will dissipate in the afternoon. Fire managers and the National Forest regularly evaluate the extent of the area closure and will adjust it to reduce impacts to public land users when they are confident it is safe to do so. Large plumes of smoke visible high in the sky are very likely from the Mullen Fire which is more than 27 miles to the northeast of the Middle Fork Fire.

Weather: Expect sunny skies with highs between 65-67 degrees and relative humidity of 9 - 14%. Winds are out of the west through southwest at 8-12 mph by 1200 with occasional gusts up to 20 mph. Clear night skies with lows between 30-35 degrees and relative humidity of 40-45% and downslope/downvalley winds at 5 mph.

Fire Behavior: Mild to moderate with flanking, backing, and isolated/group torching events.

Firefighting Resources: Approximately 61 personnel are assigned to the fire, including four helicopters (two Type 1 and two Type 3) and a fixed-wing air attack to help coordinate aerial operations.

Evacuations: There are no evacuation or pre-evacuation orders in effect. If the fire were to reach any pre-identified management action points, it would trigger Routt County Sheriff’s Office to initiate pre-evacuation orders through their reverse-911 system. To sign up for alerts, visit http://routtcountyalerts.com. The county provides tips for wildfire preparedness, including planning for pets and livestock, on their website at http://www.co.routt.co.us/309/Fire-Safety-Tips-for-Rural-Residents.

Forest Closure: Routt National Forest has issued an area closure. The closure boundary follows Mount Zirkel Wilderness boundary on east. On the south it follows Trail 1132 (Newcomb Creek), Trail 1101 (CDNST), the Wilderness boundary, and Trails 1100 (Swamp Park), 1140 (Saddle), 1140.1A (Saddle Cut-off), and 1171 (Red Dirt). On the west it follows the boundary between National Forest and private lands east of Big Creek from Red Dirt Trailhead to Trail 1176 (Roaring Fork) and continues north along the Wilderness boundary. On the north it follows the North Fork Drainage up to The Dome, east to Lost Ranger Peak, CDNST, and Trail 1131 (Lost Ranger). Trails 1131, 1132, 1166, and 1140 are open. Portion of Trails 1100 and 1171 are open where they follow the closure boundary, closed where they enter the closed area. No roads or trailheads are closed.

Closed trails include:

• Appx. 10 miles of CDNST from 1132 to 1131
• 1130 Rainbow Lake
• 1179 Roxy Ann Lake
• 1099 Ditch Creek
• 1100 and 1100.4A Swamp Park (within Wilderness Area only)
• 1118 Elk Park
• 1168 Luna Lake
• 1168.1 Fish Hawk Lake
• 1170 Chilton
• 1182 Crags
• 1184 Big Creek Lake
• 1171 Red Dirt past Trail 1140 intersection

Fire Restrictions: Stage 2 Fire Restrictions are in effect in Routt and Jackson counties, on all of the Routt National Forest, and across much of Northwest Colorado.

Notice:

 
• Please see below for the 10-8-2020 Area Closure Order and Map for the Middle Fork Fire on the Routt National Forest.
• The closure area has been right-sized to better reflect threats posed by recent and potential fire growth.
• The closure area includes a portion of the Park Range, Mt. Zirkel Wilderness in Jackson and Routt Counties, Colo.
• It was developed based on firefighter/public safety and other values at risk.
• Official source of information for this fire is InciWeb, https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/maps/7153/.
• Twitter is also being utilized to distribute links and messages via the official Forest account, @FS_MBRTB.