Crews pulled back from wildfire due to terrain, safety
The U.S. Forest Service announced plans to let the Devil's Thumb Fire in Grand County burn itself out, and warned that residents in the surrounding areas they may continue to see smoke from the fire for several months.
Fire crews had established a containment line around of quarter of the 81-acre fire as of Friday. Managers decided that same day to de-escalate operations.
"Located in Wilderness with steep, inoperable terrain, the fire area is full of standing dead and leaning or snagged trees, posing an extremely hazardous situation for firefighters," the Forest Service stated in a press release. "Additionally, fallen trees are stacked as high as 20 feet in places, making portions of the fire inaccessible."
Hot, dry weather is anticipated in the near future, and fire activity may increase and result in smoke in Grand County, Boulder County and Gilpin County. It could potentially reach Nederland and Boulder to the east.
Aircraft will be called in to protect people and property, should those be threatened, the USFS stated. But those aircraft would not be able to extinguish the fire.
"The thick 'jackstraw' of vegetation in the fire area is expected to retain heat and continue to burn slowly over time," the agency explained. "There may still be pockets of burning vegetation within the perimeter, and these hot spots can smolder for extended periods, emitting smoke as the heavy timber slowly burns. Fire crews are continuing to scout and extinguish hot spots when and where it is safe to do so."
Management plans to monitor the fire through the rest of the summer and into fall, and let rain and snow do most of the work naturally.
Seventy-eight personnel are currently staffed at the fire.
The Devil's Thumb Fire started on the Grand County side of the Continental Divide on July 4th. It is located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. Lightning was determined to be its cause.
The Forest Service on Friday posted images of a large sprinkler, one of many installed by crews on the western flank of the fire near particularly heavy amounts of dead and downed timber. The sprinklers will assist in keeping the fire from jumping containment lines there, the agency stated.
