UPDATE: Public briefing on Tenderfoot 2 fire near Dillon to be held this evening
High winds have been forecast and a Red Flag Warning is in effect from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. today
Firefighters and air resources on Tuesday continued efforts to suppress the Tenderfoot 2 Fire, located east of the town of Dillon. Monday afternoon, a multi-mission aircraft (MMA) from the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control mapped the fire at approximately 21 acres, and it grew slightly overnight.
The Tenderfoot 2 fire initially was reported at approximately 5 p.m. on Monday and now has burned an estimated 25 acres in sage and heavy timber, including significant amounts of dead-standing beetle kill lodgepole pine. The cause remains under investigation.
No evacuations have been ordered at this time and no structures are imminently threatened; however, residents are encouraged to remain vigilant and be ready to go at a moment’s notice. Power lines and microwave communication repeaters are located in the vicinity of the fire.
“There are number of values at risk, which is why so many resources are headed this way,” said Eric White, the Incident Commander for the U.S. Forest Service. “With fires in Summit County, almost every location has a high level of risk. We’re doing everything in our power to mitigate those losses while maintaining the safety of our community residents and crews.”
The neighborhoods of Corinthian Hills and Oro Grande are also being watched carefully, as high winds have been forecast and a Red Flag Warning is in effect from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. today.
The U.S. Forest Service officially took command of the Type 4 fire as of 6 p.m. Monday evening and has closed the Tenderfoot Mountain area between Straight Creek Road and Frey Gulch Road including the Oro Grande and Tenderfoot Mountain trails. For safety reasons and to allow firefighters room to operate, the public is asked to please avoid the area.
Additionally, public safety officials request that motorists drive cautiously in the area and avoid being distracted by the fire and firefighting activities. No parking is allowed on the shoulder of U.S. 6.
Fortunately, light winds and moderate fuel moisture (the wetness of the vegetation) kept the fire from making dramatic runs and growing rapidly on Monday; as a result, overnight fire activity was light, and crews were hitting the fire lines early Tuesday and are hoping to make good progress on containing the fire before winds pick up.
In addition to Lake Dillon Fire-Rescue crews, one U.S. Forest Service engine crew, a 20-person hand crew from Rifle and a 22-person initial-attack hand crew from the Upper Colorado River Fire Management Unit are currently working the fire. Two additional hand crews and four additional engines have also been requested. Two heavy tankers are dropping slurry and two helicopters are ferrying buckets of water from Lake Dillon Reservoir and will provide air attack. Additional support has been provided by the Summit County Sheriff’s Office, Summit County Dispatch, Red, White and Blue Fire Protection District, the Town of Dillon, Dillon Police Department, Xcel Energy, Denver Water, Silverthorne Police Department, and the Colorado State Patrol.
A public briefing will be held at 7 p.m. tonight in Dillon Town Hall, 275 Lake Dillon Drive, as part of the regularly scheduled Dillon Town Council meeting.
A Temporary Flight Restriction is in place around the fire to allow air operations to proceed safely. Drones pose a serious risk to firefighting and can cause aircraft to be grounded.
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