GRAND COUNTY, Colo. — New evacuation orders have been put in place for the Drowsy Water area (D3) by the Grand County Sheriff's Office (GCSO) as low relative humidity and warm temperatures are producing near red flag conditions for both the Williams Fork and East Troublesome Fires.
Wind gusts of up to 30 mph are expected this afternoon.
The East Troublesome fire is burning on Arapaho National Forest lands near Grimes Peak, fueled by grasses, sage and lodgepole pine trees, fire officials said. That's north-northwest of Hot Sulphur Springs and northeast of Kremmling. It was first reported around 4 p.m. on Oct. 14.
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Poor humidity recovery and winds pushed the fire north and east to the Ethel Creek and further into the East Troublesome Creek drainages Monday night. The primary driver of the fire is winds in areas of heavy fuels consisting of beetle-killed timber.
As of Tuesday morning, the fire was estimated at 15,546 acres with 10% containment. There 293 personnel currently assigned with additional support on the way, according to the incident command team.
On Tuesday, air resources will continue water and retardant drops on active areas in the north and southeast part of the fire. Helicopters will continue bucket work on the eastern portion of the active fire front near Kinney Creek, Sawmill Creek, and the Colorado 125 corridor.
A helibase is being established in Kremmling to support air operations.
A second structure protection group has been created specifically to install hose lays and sprinklers around structures along the CO 125 and Highway 40 corridors. Crews are also working to reinforce fire lines around Grouse Mountain.
Incident managers and Mountain Forks Electric are closely monitoring the fire's movement toward the CO 125 corridor to determine if power shutoff is necessary to protect infrastructure. At this time there are no power shutoffs.
A joint information center has been activated in Grand County where community members may be directed for information requests.
Evacuation orders
There are mandatory evacuation orders and pre-evacuation notices in place, according to officials.
Current evacuation information can be found at gcemergency.com and on the InciWeb page for the East Troublesome Fire.
All public lands north of Hot Sulphur Springs to Willow Creek Pass and east to US Highway 34 are closed. Additional information and maps can be found by clicking here
The Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) has closed CO 125 north of Granby from milepost 5 to 27, due to the fire. For more travel information check CDOT's website.
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