POLLES FIRE UPDATE - July 5, 2020

Fire containment is 100%, 5,430 acres.

Fire containment is 85%, 5,430 acres. Fire is smoldering in heavy grass and mesquite. Crews are mopping up hot spots with engines and improving all the lines.

Fire containment is 50%, estimated 4,500 acres. Fire crews will continue to construct, improve, and patrol containment lines.

 The following are currently closed due to the Mount R Fire: 

• Keller Peak Road (1N96)
• Keller Peak Yellow Post Sites
• Exploration Trail
• Trail of the Phoenix 
  

City Creek Road (1N09) is closed between Highway 330 and Alder Creek Road (1N16). 

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif - San Bernardino National Forest officials are seeking help from the public in identifying a person or persons of interest seen leaving the Mount R Fire’s point of origin along City Creek Road, locally referred to as 1N09 for the Forest Service road number (pronounced with the letter-O), as the incident began. The person or persons were seen in a black sedan Audi with a broken left taillight. Anyone with information should call 909-383-5651.

The 100-acre Mount R Fire began shortly before 3:00 p.m. on Friday, July 3, off City Creek Road, east of Highway 330, near the “R,” a hillside University of Redlands emblem visible from campus. It is currently 15% contained. Its cause remains under investigation. Ground and air resources continue to work to suppress and contain the fire today.

Fire information will be kept updated on InciWeb.
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UPDATE July 3, 2020
Dinosaur, CO and Jensen, UT - The lightning caused Split Fire at Dinosaur National Monument was discovered on Friday, June 26. Upon detection, the fire was 1/4 acre and burning in very steep, mountainous terrain. The fire is currently 18 acres and is burning at 7,000 feet on the north side of Split Mountain near Rainbow Park. All park facilities currently remain open.

Due to the hazardous conditions for firefighters and minimal risk of spread, firefighters have been actively monitoring the fire. Because of its location there is limited threat to people or structures. Five fire fighters are currently assigned to the fire.

Dry and windy conditions after the fire ignited allowed the Split fire to grow to 36 acres by Monday, June 28.  Since Monday, although temperatures have been high and relative humidity has been low, winds have decreased, and fire activity has been minimal with creeping spread and some visible smoke over the past few days. The current forecast calls for windy conditions and possible thunderstorms through the holiday weekend and into next week.
 
“If the fire moves down-slope to the north, we will begin utilizing direct and indirect tactics where firefighters can access the fire with less risk.” said Incident Commander Charlie Reynar.

Since the fire is burning at 7000 feet on the north side of Split Mountain near Rainbow Park, smoke may be visible for quite a distance and visitors can expect to see smoke especially while recreating in the Island Park area.

Updated information about this fire can be found at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6822/ or by calling Incident Contact Naaman Horn at (307) 699-0142. This will be the last press release unless conditions change.


The original News Release from June 26, 2020 is below:
Dinosaur, Colorado & Jensen, UT – Fire crews from Dinosaur National Monument and the Bureau of Land Management Green River Office in Vernal, UT responded to four fires that were spotted on Friday, June 26 after a lighting storm moved across the area on Thursday evening. The largest fire, called the Split Fire, is located in a remote and rocky area at 7000 feet elevation on the north side of Split Mountain in Utah. As of Friday afternoon, the Split Fire was creeping and smoldering through an approximately one-quarter to one-half acre of patchy grass, brush, and pine needle duff. Because of the inaccessibility of the fire's location, and its low potential for spread, the Split Fire is being monitored with no current suppression efforts. Three other single tree fires were ignited along the Yampa Bench Road in Colorado from this same storm. Fire crews expect to have those fires all contained by Friday evening. 
 
Visitors may see smoke from the Split Fire if they are visiting the Rainbow Park area of Dinosaur National Monument. There are no closures of roads or trails at this time.

For more information about Dinosaur National Monument, visit our website www.nps.gov/dino and social media channels @DinosaurNPS on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

This will be the final update from The Gila/Las Cruces Type 3 Incident Management Team for the Cub fire, the team will be returning management of the Cub fire to the Gila National Forest at 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday July 21, 2020.

Due to increased lightning and rain over the fire yesterday afternoon, all fire crews were staged at the Willow Creek spike camp. Crews remain available to respond to any new fires.

“We have appreciated the high level of coordination and communication between the cooperating agencies” stated Acting Wilderness District Ranger, Ericka Luna

The Incident Management Team would like to thank the residents of Grant and Catron Counties,   all our cooperators and supporting agencies including New Mexico State Forestry, New Mexico Game and Fish, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Grant and Catron counties, the New Mexico Department of Transportation, the Mora National Fish Hatchery, the Gila Cliff Dwellings, Elected Officials, Sierra and Grant Soil and Water Conservation Districts, and Natural Resource Conservation Service Team 7.

Additional Fire Information available: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6819/

New Mexico Fire Information: www.nmfireinfo.com

Yesterday afternoon, after several days of improving trails for use as fireline, all fire crews were removed from the fire area due to snags, wind, and lightning.

Cloud cover was present over the fire for a majority of the day with the fire receiving scattered precipitation.

In order to provide for firefighter safety while working in a remote area an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance was ordered and has been located at the Willow Creek spike camp.  Yesterday that ambulance was approached by a visitor who had a relative experiencing a medical emergency. Because of the location of the ambulance and the strict adherence to the medical plan this ambulance initiated the process of getting a county ground ambulance as well as a Gila Regional air ambulance in route to the incident. The assigned paramedics were able to stabilize the patient for transport via air ambulance to a definitive care facility.

Several crews have been demobilized from the Cub fire and will be utilized for initial attack of new fires on the forest following a significant lightning event that occurred over the area Saturday afternoon.

Additional Fire Information available: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6819/

New Mexico Fire Information: www.nmfireinfo.com