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While unfortunate that people won't be hiking up there for a bit, and many of the trees will be gone, it's a pretty good place for a burn. As long as it stays away from Glacier View and the properties in the canyon (and doesn't jump the river), that area needed to burn. And, there aren't many homes in the immediate burn path. Fire return intervals are short for the area in there. Hopefully winds don't shift to the north or the southeast.

I know the area where its heading very well. Its sage brush and grass with very limited trees. I'm not sure how good or bad that is for firefighters working on it. Scary to see such destruction so close to home and in a place I was at over the weekend. I really hope those folks working on it stay safe and I hope they catch the MFer who started it. I'll get some picture from work tonight and post them later.

It's a damn shame this fire has to be in this area. There is a lot of cultural history that is present in Hewlett Gulch area. Anyone ever hear of the Gordon Creek Woman? It's a 12,000 year old burial just west (I believe) of Hewlett Gulch, which is one of the oldest burials known in the United States. All the woman's remains have since been excavated, but the surrounding region itself is still of great archaeological interest and research. I hope the fire doesn't affect the integrity of this site.

Have they announced the cause of the fire? Last I checked the causes were still unknown.

Fort Collins and the foothills to the west are shrouded in a haze. No matter where you go, it smells like you're standing right next to a campfire.

bpko wrote:It's a damn shame this fire has to be in this area. There is a lot of cultural history that is present in Hewlett Gulch area. Anyone ever hear of the Gordon Creek Woman? It's a 12,000 year old burial just west (I believe) of Hewlett Gulch, which is one of the oldest burials known in the United States. All the woman's remains have since been excavated, but the surrounding region itself is still of great archaeological interest and research. I hope the fire doesn't affect the integrity of this site.

Have they announced the cause of the fire? Last I checked the causes were still unknown.

Fort Collins and the foothills to the west are shrouded in a haze. No matter where you go, it smells like you're standing right next to a campfire.

Just "Human-caused; Still Under Investigation" so far...

That is a huge jump in size from what they quoted yesterday. 5,000 acres is about the size of the entire Vail ski area including all the back bowls. Let's hope it doesn't get too much bigger. Some fires can be good but not when they nuke huge areas. The Hayman fire was 138,000 acres (biggest ever in Colorado). Ten years later that area is still devastated and only slowly coming back.

It seems to be mainly moving N-NE with the prevailing south winds. A wind shift to the north may come for the weekend which would turn it back upon itself but could then threaten other areas and homes. I was planning a trip to the east side of RMNP this weekend but hope it isn't smoked in from the fire. It's quite hazy in Denver now and very obscured looking north to Ft. Collins.

I heard they suspect an abandoned campfire as the cause but not confirmed.

Evacuation order issued for Bonner Springs Ranch Rd to Hwy 287 & South.

Ugh. A classic hike near Ft. Collins, perfect for this time of year, usually green with budding wildflowers and not too hot.
Wanted to do the Grand Slam hike/bushwhack one of these days -- looks like all six have now been burned, in addition to Pt. 6945.
Unfathomable.

Too bad. Grayrock is a fun hike if you avoid the rattlesnakes. The area has had a number of small fires over the years, but nothing of this magnitude.

So sh!tty.

Scary map, George. At this point, I just hope it doesn't cross 14 to the south and they can contain it to the west somewhat. Looks like it could very well go all the way to 287.

Well, that's disappointing. I used to hike at Greyrock quite frequently when I was living in Ft. Collins. Based on that map I'm guessing it looks a bit different up there today. On the brighter side, at least this fire hasn't torched anyone's home yet. It seems like we're shaping up for a bad fire year at this point.

Steve Knapp wrote:That is a huge jump in size from what they quoted yesterday. 5,000 acres is about the size of the entire Vail ski area including all the back bowls. Let's hope it doesn't get too much bigger. Some fires can be good but not when they nuke huge areas. The Hayman fire was 138,000 acres (biggest ever in Colorado). Ten years later that area is still devastated and only slowly coming back.

Mixed-severity fire regime, so not anymore close to being outside of HRV. It may be sad if it burns some houses down, but that's a risk people take living in the woods, same with floodplains, coasts, tornado-prone areas, etc). Next year and in subsequent years, there will be a ton of flowers and grasses, and loads of wildlife. The media and the damn bear make everyone think that wildfires are always bad. They're very important ecologically. The reason that the fires up in that area have been small, is that they're suppressed.