September 11, 2023, 9am
Type 3 Team, Incident Commander: Nate Hallam
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.
Bear Creek Fire: 1090 acres| 83% of objectives achieved | 61 personnel assigned
Yesterday, the Bear Creek Fire saw moderate fire activity mid-morning, until afternoon showers brought wetting moisture to slow fire activity. More showers overnight brought 24-hour rain totals to 0.41”, but prevented a mapping flight, so there is not a new acreage to report today. Crews will remain actively engaged in the Weminuche Valley and prepping the Mosca road as a contingency line today, though minimal fire activity is expected with continued moisture through mid-week.
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).
Quartz Ridge Fire
InciWeb:
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/cosjf-quartz-ridge-fire
Bear Creek Fire
InciWeb:
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/cosjf-bear-creek-fire