JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The firefighting efforts around the Quarry Fire in Jefferson County are "going absolutely great" and evacuated residents will likely have the chance to get back to their homes "very, very soon," according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO).
Karlyn Tilley, public information officer for the JCSO, said in a 2 p.m. press conference Monday that fire crews were able to make good progress on a controlled burn at the Quarry Fire, which will decrease the wildfire's ability to spread beyond its current perimeter. As of Monday morning, crews had about 50 acres left to burn, she said.
“And once that is done, we will have a much better chance of getting all of our residents back in their homes," she said.
Listen to the full press conference from Monday afternoon below.
After the evacuation notices are lifted, only residents will be allowed in the neighborhood for at least 48 hours to allow them the space and time to settle in back at home. A timeline for this is not yet available, but Tilley said "we just know that we are getting so, so close." Any rain Monday afternoon or evening will only speed up that process.
“We are very excited that this is going faster than we even thought it was going to and we hope to be able to give them (evacuated residents) that word — that one word that they are looking for — very soon," she said, later adding, “The fire right now is doing exactly what we hoped would do. It’s blowing in the right direction, it’s burning the right things, and we’re very, very excited for that.”
As of Monday evening, the Quarry Fire is 527 acres, up from about 472, but most of that increase is from the controlled burning. The containment also increased from 35% up to 45%.
The fire is burning near Deer Creek Canyon west of Ken Caryl and was first reported around 9:30 p.m. on July 30. On Friday morning, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirmed an active arson investigation was underway. It's not yet clear if the fire was intentionally set or not. Anybody with information about the origin of the fire is asked to call 303-271-5612.
The mandatory evacuations forced residents in 575 residences to leave their homes. No homes were destroyed as of Monday morning.
Evacuation orders were downgraded to pre-evacuation status for the Deer Creek Mesa and Kueshter neighborhoods on Saturday. Only residents with credential cards for those neighborhoods will be allowed in. Residents must pick up those cards at the evacuation center at Dakota Ridge High School between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. in order to be allowed back in. People who live in an area that is still under a mandatory evacuation can also pick up a card to use once they are allowed back into their neighborhoods.
As of Sunday evening, more than 300 of the 575 evacuated households had picked up the card.
Below are the current evacuations for neighborhoods due to the Quarry Fire:
- Mandatory evacuations
- Sampson
- Maxwell
- McKinney Ranch
- Murphy Gulch
- Pre-evacuations
- Deer Creek Mesa
- Kuehster
- Silver Ranch/Jennings
- Silver Ranch South/Homestead South
- Hilldale Pines
- Oehlmann
- West Ranch
Overnight into Monday, fire crews conducted "surgical burning," which means they slowly burned areas within the planned containment lines to get rid of any potential fuel sources. This strengthens the fire control lines. More of this will continue over the next few days, the sheriff's office said. About 190 firefighters will work at the Quarry Fire on Monday.
Even with some rain on Sunday, the Quarry Fire "still has signs of life" as of Monday morning, West Metro Fire Rescue said.
A helicopter will ignite vegetation on the south side of Deer Creek Canyon Road to ensure the fire, should it jump the road, has nothing to burn.
"The aerial ignitions will come by way of helicopter, with a Plastic Sphere Dispenser," West Metro Fire Rescue explained. "The spheres are basically the size of ping-pong balls, filled with potassium permanganate, which is a powder, which is then injected with ethylene glycol — basically antifreeze. That creates a chemical reaction that creates combustion, and then you have a small ignition point on the ground."
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Other aircraft may work around the fire Monday as well. Air attack equipment includes two type 1 helicopters, one type 2 helicopter, and one type 3 helicopter.
The sheriff's office said people may notice large plumes of dark smoke rising from the area from time to time on Monday, but this is just the fire burning back on itself within the perimeter.
"While it looks scary, this is normal fire behavior," it said. "All of these flare ups are within the planned containment lines. This will continue to happen over the next few days."
#QuarryFire update: You will see increased smoke in the air as fire operations continue today. There is no cause for concern. pic.twitter.com/vRyTdZUoZ8
— Jeffco Sheriff (@jeffcosheriffco) August 5, 2024
Tilley reiterated how difficult the terrain is for ground crews.
“It’s steep. It’s grueling. It’s hot," she said. "There are no sources of water up there. Everything they’re doing is difficult. Every step they take is hard, but they’re doing it. They’re staying extra hours. They’re staying overnight extra hours, because they want to get the residents back in their homes.”
The fire is not burning in the tree canopy, and is instead staying in the scrub oak and on the ground, she said.
“All the stars have aligned and we’re very, very excited that it is going exactly as we hoped," she said. "God willing and Mother Nature willing, we will get people back in their homes very, very soon.”
Monday will stay a bit cooler and wetter than the past few days, though smoke may still impact people with lung disease, such as asthma. Those individuals should reduce their time outdoors, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE). The CDPHE issued an ozone action day alert, which will last until 4 p.m. Monday, for the Front Range.
The sheriff's office is reminding the public that temporary flight restrictions are in place over the Quarry Fire, meaning no unmanned aerial vehicle or pilots are allowed to fly over the fire. This has been in place since Aug. 1, but the sheriff's office said "there have been incidents with both small fixed-wing planes and drones." Investigators are looking into those cases.
“We’ve had a real problem with that. We’ve had multiple people with drones flying over the area. When they fly, we can’t," Tilley said.
To receive the latest updates on the Quarry Fire, sign up for Lookout Alerts here. To offer donations, complete this form on Jefferson County's website.
Authorities will provide another press conference Tuesday at 2 p.m.
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