Canyonlands fire fight by ground and air continues in Fremont County
Sunday is day 6 in the fight against the Canyonlands Fire in Fremont County.
On Wednesday, day 2, drivers heading westbound on Highway 50 got a good look at the white smoke from the flames coming off the mountain. However, today is a different story. It’s hard to see any signs of flames at all.
“This is a good sign, ” said Greg Heule , the Canyonlands Fire PIO . ” That means the fire has laid down considerably.”
The work is far from done though. Currently camped out 9 miles west of Canon City, 85 firefighters continue to battle the flames. As of Sunday, the Canyonlands fire has reached 50 acres and is 0% contained.
Crews are also continuing to deal with difficult terrain.
“From a distance it doesn’t look all that bad but the oak brush up there is between 6 -10 feet tall so there are very difficult fuels, ” said Heule . ” Then on top of that, there are real rugged, broken, rocky terrains.”
Helicopters worked all day Saturday dumping water and retardant to try to contain the flames.
“I think yesterday we were at 40,000 gallons that we dropped on the fire,” said Roger Capps a command Pilot of a Type 1 Helicopter.
Capps and his crew of 8 men have been helping contain the flames for 4 days now.
As of Sunday, the crew is waiting 15 miles away at Fremont County Airport for firefighters on the ground to call them to assist.
Pilots may not be on the ground but these flights are tiresome in their own way.
“Depending on the conditions it gets a little hot up there, ” said Capps . ” Turbulence might bump you around here in the greater state of Colorado but after about an 8 hour day you are pretty much exhausted.”
These helicopters are needed for extra support to help contain the fires. However, it’s the boots on the ground that will push the flames back.
Crews hope to have the Canyonlands fire 100% contained by Friday. However, that’s also dependent on if the area gets some rainfall.
