Quarry Fire is now an arson investigation, Jefferson County Sheriff's Office confirms Friday

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — An active arson investigation is now underway into the Quarry Fire burning west of Ken Caryl in Jefferson County, officials confirmed during a Friday morning news conference.

Kevin Bost, chief of investigations with the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office (JCSO), said deputies believe the Quarry Fire is "human-caused in some manner," but didn't elaborate further due to the sensitive nature of the investigation.

Watch this announcement from Jefferson County officials in the video below:

In a press conference later in the day, officials said they are using a state arson dog.

Informed sources told Denver7 Chief Investigative Reporter Tony Kovaleski on Thursday that fire investigators found some “weird items” at what they confirmed to be the source of the Quarry Fire, near Deer Creek "above Grizzly in the switchback area," according to Bost, but were not ready to say at the time whether arson was suspected until Friday morning's update.

Those items are now the focus of the fire investigation. The source did not disclose what those items were to Kovaleski on Thursday.

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Anybody with information on the fire's origins is asked to call the JCSO tip line at 303-271-5612. Residents are asked to check any outdoor surveillance footage if they live in the area too.

Another update came on Friday afternoon, when the Quarry Fire, first reported Tuesday night, increased about 50 acres on the west side in open space and away from homes, bringing the current total to 480 acres. It is 10% contained. No structures have been impacted. Aircraft continue to work above the fire.

The fire remains about a quarter mile from any structures.

"The best news today is that we met our objectives," said Karlyn Tilley, public information officer with the JCSO. "Our objectives were to connect the hand lines to the bulldozer line. So from the east side and the south side, we were able to connect those lines. And we have much more of a fire line around this fire than we did this morning. So that's very, very encouraging."

She added that the fire line on Deer Creek Canyon Road is holding.

"Earlier today, you probably saw some darker plumes of smoke out the area that is the fire burning back in on itself," she continued, explaining that people should not interpret the smoke as an additional threat.

Two firefighters sprained their ankles in the past 24 hours, but are doing well, Tilley said.

Several people have reached out to donate and volunteer to help, said Cassie Pearce, public affairs director with Jefferson County.

"This community is absolutely incredible, and the generosity that we've seen is mind blowing," she said.

To donate food or items, complete this form. Financial donations can be made through the American Red Cross.

"Yesterday, we were cautiously optimistic, and today, we're even more optimistic that we're making really good progress with this fire and the temperatures tomorrow," Tilley said.

Watch Friday afternoon's press conference below.

The firefighting crew stands at 185 people with another hotshot team arriving Friday, according to Mark Techmeyer, the public affairs manager for the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. There are 40 hotshot firefighters on the ground battling the Quarry Fire, Techmeyer said.

"We have 20-year firefighters who are saying, 'I've never worked in terrain like this,'" Techmeyer said during Friday morning's news conference, adding that three helicopters would fight the fire from the air Friday.

Aircraft is using water from Chatfield Reservoir, which was open to boating and water recreation Friday, Colorado Parks and Wildlife said.

FEMA has authorized the use of federal funds to help with firefighting costs for the Quarry Fire "after receiving the request... and determining that the fire threatened such destruction that it would constitute a major disaster," per a news release.

FEMA officials said that at the time of the request from the state to receive Federal Fire Management Assistance Grant (FMAG) funds, the blaze was threatening more than 750 homes and other structures in the area.

The authorization makes FEMA funding available to pay 75% of the state’s eligible firefighting costs under an approved grant for managing, mitigating and controlling designated fires. The grants do not provide assistance to individual home or business owners and do not cover other infrastructure damage caused by the fire.

Evacuation orders remain for residents in the Deer Creek Mesa, Sampson, McKinney Ranch, Murphy Gulch, Maxwell and Kuehster subdivisions. The Silver Ranch/Jennings and Silver Ranch South/Homestead South subdivisions were under pre-evacuation notices as was Hilldale Pines, Oehlmann, and the West Ranch subdivisions, according to the Inter-Canyon Fire Protection District.

So far, 575 homes have been evacuated across those six subdivisions and Techmeyer could not say when those people would be allowed back.

Road closures remain in place for South Valley Road, Deer Creek Canyon Road, South Cougar Road, Pleasant Road, West Ranch Trail and Kuester Road, Techmeyer said.

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office

A map of the area under alert is available viewed here. Residents are encouraged to sign up for the Lookout Alert emergency notification system to keep up with the latest alerts from Jefferson County regarding the fire.

Evacuees were told to head to Dakota Ridge High School, where over 65 people were taking refuge along with their pets. Large animals were being evacuated to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds, but people with smaller animals, like cats and dogs, could go to the Foothills Animal Shelter in Golden.