Photos/Story by John Carr

The Colorado Wildfire season has yet to officially begin and there have already been more fires than at the end of the State's worst season. On Monday, May 21, with several large fires burning in the state, lightning apparently sparked a fire in the Pike National Forest, near the town of Deckers. The fire burned in a sparsely populated area approximately 45 miles southwest of Denver.

The fire was reported by local residents on Tuesday afternoon. High winds fanned the flames and the fire spread to approximately 300 acres by nightfall. Firefighters from the nearby town of Trumbull and the U. S. Forest Service initially worked to contain the flames.

On Wednesday morning the Type III Jefferson County Incident Management Team (IIMT) took over command of the fire. The Incident Command Post (ICP) was established in the Trumbull Volunteer Fire Department firehouse. Handcrews were joined by several engine strike teams, for structural protection, and an aggressive air attack. The fire was named the Schoonover Gulch Fire. Despite high winds the fire burned most of the day on the forest floor.

Colorado is suffering thru a serious drought. Winter snowpacks in many areas was less than 20% of normal. A lack of Spring rain has also compounded the fire danger. According to Colorado Assistant Forester Vaughn Jones the live green trees in Colorado woodlands have a moisture content equivalent to most dead trees. Existing deadwood has less moisture than kiln dried lumber available in home centers.

Firefighters spent the early hours of Wednesday making good progress. By mid afternoon working with three large slurry tankers and a heavy heli-tanker ground crews had constructed a significant amount of fireline on the fire's two flanks. Winds had been blowing from 10-20 miles per hour.They shifted and increased in intensity. Gusts reached as high as 30 m.p.h. and relative humidity dropped below 5%.

As if on cue, at 3:00 p.m., the fire moved from the forest floor and began torching in the tree tops. Within minutes crown fires developed and spot fires moved out as far ¼ mile ahead of the main fire. In less than 3 hours the front of the fire had advanced nearly three miles. Crews working on the ground were pulled away from the flames. The fire moved north and quickly jumped Colorado Highway 67. Teams providing structural protection were cutoff from the command post and staged aparatus. They were ordered to pull out of their precarious positions. Firefighters from staging set up a defensive position in the town of Deckers in hopes of saving its historic general store.

The flames continued advancing not only on several subdivisions but on the command post itself. The tiny town of Trumbull has a smattering of homes and only 36 residents. Trumbull Fire Chief Jim Egle made it clear the flames would not destroy his community. Air attack pilots reported that the fire was moving quickly downslope, against the high winds. The fire began threatening several ranches and a popular YMCA camp. While not confirmed by fire officials it is believed that flames consumed several of the camp's buildings. As Strike Team 3 entered the property they reported flames burning close to camp buildings. With a few thousand gallons of water available on engines and tenders, crews made an aggressive effort to save them. As night approached field observers spotted several large plumes of smoke coming from inside the camp grounds but fire officials were unable to confirm their source.

With nightfall the air cooled, the winds died down and flames began burning with much less intensity. Fire officials reported that in less than 4 hours the fire had spread from 400 acres to more than 4000 acres. By 8:00 p.m. the Jefferson County IMT transitioned command over to a national Type I (Hart) Incident Command Team (IMT).

Officials reported that as many as 300 homes were evacuated. At least 20 commercial businesses were also closed. It is expected that more than 600 firefighters will join the efforts to contain the fire.