The Fire is Finally Out

Hi Buddies,
Stanley, Omega and I have finally gone back home the Indian Gulch Fire is contained and most of the hot spots are now out as well.

There have been several red flag warings throughout the state this week and it is a little early for fire season. It has not rained or snowed much in Colorado this winter except in the mountains. It has been great skiing but Denver has not had much snow at all.

Keep up with your training so you can help us as we work an incidents this year.

Stay safe,
Flame

What are the Fire Buddy Animals Up To?

Well Buddies, Stanley and I are still at the Indian Gulch fire and while the fire has been getting bigger each day, the firefighters are starting to make a difference. The wind died down for a while today, so the slurry planes were able to fly and help build the fire lines. There was even a little snow this afternoon but it didn’t make much of a difference.
Omega flew down to Douglas County and checked out the Burning Tree Fire that start today but is already 50% contained. The firefighters were able to attack this fire with trucks and water. We will be keeping an eye on this fire as well.
Majesty, Sage and Max have been staying close to home in case something happens in Glacier Creek.

I hope that all of you have gotten the first section of the FSB Training Manual and are working through it. We might need some help but you need to complete your training.

Flame (Leader of the Fire Buddies)

Indian gulch Fire Update

Well buddies, things are not going well for the firefighters here in Golden.  The fire is now at 1,200 acres and is in very steep terrain.  The firefigthers cannot get a fire line built around the fire like they did over at the Soda Creek fire.  Also there are a lot of trees on fire and the wind is blowing the flames from tree to tree.  There was no snow or rain here during the night and the forcast calls for another hot and windy day.

In your FSB Training you will learn that all events are catorized by Type.  This fire started as a Type 4 fire and has been upgraded to a Type 1 now.  That is he worst type but it means that help from all over the US will now come and work on this fire.  Type 1 crews are certified and have experience with very difficult events.  These people will be showing up today to take over the managment of this fire. 

Stanley and I have been watching through the night to make sure that all the wildlife is out of the area and that the firefighters stay safe. Omega gave us the report from the Soda Creek Fire and we were happy to hear that it went well.

We will be staying the area and watching and will give you another update later.

Stay safe Buddies.

Flame

Update on the Soda Creek Fire

The firefighters kept an eye on the fire area last night and there were no flare ups or problems. They will work today to make sure there are no hot spots and “mop up”. My job here is done and I will be going back to the mountains abover Glacier Creek. Omega has flown over to the Indian gulch fire to see what Flame & Stanley are doing.

Majesty

Soda Creek Fire

Hi from the Soda Creek Fire,

Station 2 and the wild-fire team was called out this afternoon at 14:30 (2:30pm) to respond to a wildland fire that was burning in Evergreen, CO.  We took Tender 2 and SCAT 2 with 6 firefighters and 5 deputies from the sheriff’s office went with us as well.

We got to the fire an there was a lot of grass on fire and only a few trees but we could not see the entire fire. It had burned up a hill and was now on the other side of the hill.  The sheriffs deputies helped to close the roads and we got all our gear on and went to talk to the Incident Commander to find out what we were going to do.  Five of the guys became Team 1 and took the SCAT 2 with them to fight the fire.  I stayed in the command area and was the scribe, which means I wrote down everything that was happening to our team of firefighters.  There ended up being 5 teams of firefighters that worked on the fire and Tender 2 supplied water for the trucks.  There are pictures below that show the trucks and the firefighters on the hill.

Usually on a wildfire we cannot use the trucks and get water to the fire but this time we could.  Evergreen fire hooked three fire trucks together to get the water from the main road to the top of the hill. The fire was approx 10 acres and the only reason the fire did not spread quickly was because we had water to help put it out quickly.

Something you will learn in your Fire Station Buddies training is that what firefighters do is build a fire line around the entire fire, when this is complete then the fire is contained.  Then we start to put the grass or trees out and the fire has to not burn for three days before the fire is considered “out”.  A fire line is where we use shovels and other tools to make at 2 foot wide path that is all dirt around the fire.  We dig up bushes, grass, leaves, etc in this 2 foot section so the fire cannot burn there. Just like when you color and have to stay in the lines, we build a line around the fire and it can’t get out.  When I came home at 19:00 (7pm) the fire was completely contained but there were still hot spots and places where the fire was still burning.

Some of the firefighters, fire trucks and law enforcement will spend the night at the fire, so make sure it doesn’t flare back up or spread. The firefighters usually do not work after dark since it is not safe for them.  They will go back to their fire stations and come back early tomorrow.  Majesty and Omega are going to stay with the firefighters and will give us an update tomorrow.

No homes burned down and most of the families that were evacuated were allowed to go back to their houses. 

If you have any questions, you can always post on this blog or send me an email at firebuddies@att.net.

Talk to you soon,

Karen McHale

Soda Creek Fire Pictures

 

Evergreen Fire Has a Name

Here is an update on the fire-
The Evergreen fire is now called the Soda Creek Fire for the road that is near it. There are about 50 firefighters here now and some of the roads are closed so the policemen are letting only responders in. The fire is close to a few houses, so they have been evacuated to the shelter, which is at the High School. Karen and the wildfire team was paged out to help so I should see her in a few minutes.
The Incident Commander wanted to order a helicopter to drop water on the fire but the wind is blowing too hard.
The firefighters are starting to put teams together and have put one of the fire trucks close to the fire, so they can use the hoses and put water on the fire.
Majesty
Fire Station Buddies