Crews increase lines around Alexander Mountain, Quarry fires; Stone Canyon fire fully contained

While it was a very productive weekend for crews working three wildfires along the Front Range, there is still much work to do to get full containment on the Alexander Mountain and Quarry fires, officials said.

The biggest news from the weekend was the Stone Canyon fire, which started Tuesday morning north of Lyons, was completely contained as of Sunday evening. The Lyons Fire Protection agency is now in charge and mopping up the interior of the fire as the investigation into the cause continues.

The Quarry fire, which started Tuesday night in Jefferson County and is being investigated as arson, is 45% contained as of Monday evening and minor growth with the completion of a controlled burn.

Much the same in Larimer County as hundreds of firefighters continue to work on the Alexander Mountain fire, which started Tuesday morning. That fire is 74% contained after burning nearly 10,000 acres, officials said during a rainy news conference Monday afternoon.

The Larimer County sheriff said Saturday that investigators from his office and the U.S. Forest Service reached the remote area that morning where they think the fire started, but did not give more information into a potential cause. That was reiterated Monday afternoon.

Catch up: Read live updates from Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Alexander Mountain fire

Focus on hot spots as containment climbs

With a jump to 74% containment Monday afternoon, officials said the number of personnel fighting the fire will decrease. At one point there were more than 600 firefighters working the fire.

“With the great success we’ll see our numbers drop,” Carl Schwope with the Southwest  Incident Command Team said Monday afternoon during a rainy news conference. “That’s a lot of folks doing a lot of good work.”

Crews are zeroing in on hot spots inside the burn scar, with the help of aerial surveillance using infrared technology. 

“We’re going in to make sure there’s no more heat in there. So it’s kind of search and destroy for any kind of heat,” said Jayson Coil with the Incident Command Team. “Last night on the infrared (flyover) we asked them to turn it up until they could see deer, then back it down a notch so we can pick up every one of those little spots, and then they went in after those spots today.” 

There are still 929 homes inside the mandatory evacuation area, but that is expected to drop in the next few days.

— 4:25 p.m. Monday

More than 600 personnel remain on fire

The goal Monday for the 625 personnel working the fire west of Loveland is to continue to protect homes in the Cedar Park area and locate any remaining “hot pockets of fuel,” per the Monday morning update.

“As more containment is achieved, crews will turn their focus to locating areas holding heat in the interior of the fire and patrolling containment lines,” officials said Monday.

The fire has not grown in size the past few days as firefighters secured lines along Highway 34 in the Big Thompson Canyon and on the eastern edge.

—10:21 a.m. Monday

Quarry fire

Containment nears halfway mark

As firefighters continue to work on the interior of the wildfire and securing fire lines, officials said Monday evening the fire was 45% contained and had burned 527 acres.

That added acreage was in part due to about a 50-acre controlled burn, which has been ongoing the past few days, on the west side of the fire. 

— 5:30 p.m. Monday

Progress with controlled burn

Firefighters are nearly finished with a controlled burn on the west side that crews started over the weekend. That work will help with containment and means more evacuations could be lifted soon, said Jefferson County spokeswoman Karlyn Tilley. 

“The controlled burn we are doing right now is going absolutely great,” she said during a news conference Monday afternoon. “The weather is cooperating. Overnight it was absolutely wonderful. We were able to get so much of that extra fuel burned out, and we only had about 50 acres left this morning to burn. Once that is done we’ll have a much better chance of getting all of our residents back in their homes.” 

She said the rain overnight gave firefighters some relief but it did not do much to dampen the fire. More rain is in the forecast Monday night.

“If we get some good rains tonight, we’ll be even closer. … We’re hoping for a more substantial rain tonight,” Tilley said.

The fire remains at 472 acres burned and 35% contained, but those numbers are likely to increase after a flyover this afternoon, she said. There is no timeline on when evacuations will be lifted.

— 2:50 p.m. Monday

Drones continue to be problem

The plan Monday is for “increased burn operations today utilizing helicopters,” according to a morning update. Firefighters and local officials said they continue to have problems with drones and small fixed-wing planes over the area, which can cause air operations to stop for safety reasons. There has been a temporary flight restriction in the area since the fire started July 30, and investigators are looking into pilots breaching that order.

The investigation continues into the cause of the fire, and it is being investigated as arson, either started intentionally or unintentionally.

A news conference is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Monday for the latest updates.

—10:26 a.m. Monday

Stone Canyon fire

All clear for residents to go home

All evacuations and road closures were lifted Sunday evening when the fire was considered 100% contained. The Lyons Fire Protection District now controls the operations and will be doing mop-up operations Monday, the agency said in an update Monday morning.

“There may still be smoke within the burn area as crews work to mop up any hot spots. Please only call 911 if flames are visible, or if smoke is coming from outside the burn area,” the districted posted on Facebook.

The cause of the fire, which started Tuesday morning, remains under investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is one of the agencies helping with the investigation. 

—10:42 a.m. Monday

Type of Story: Live Blog

Continuous updates as facts and sources are still being cross-checked.