The Haystack Fire in southwestern Jefferson County grew to an estimated 150 acres by midday Tuesday, three days after being estimated at just 1.5 acres. The Gatlin Gulch Fire southwest of Boulder was mostly contained, smoldering and not expected to grow.
Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest Public Information Officer Catherine McRae said on Tuesday that the fire was jumping from tree to tree in terrain that did not have consistent fuel coverage on the ground, and that it was still too dangerous for ground-based firefighting because of “large boulders and [a] very steep slope.”
“The fire doesn’t have uniformity of fuel source,” she said. “The decision was made that it was too dangerous.”
If the fire reaches certain “trigger points,” she said, ground-based firefighting may augment the aerial monitoring and water drops the Forest Service is currently conducting. She said that hot temperatures, low humidity and high winds in recent days contributed to the fire’s growth, and that moisture in coming days—up to 1 inch of rainfall—“will drastically change” the fire.
No structures were threatened on Tuesday, she said, and there were none within a few miles of the fire.
Days earlier, on Saturday evening, the forest stated that the fire was “only 1–1.5 acres.”
The Haystack Fire started on July 31 on a small and rocky knob near the peak of Haystack Mountain, east of Elk Park, between U.S. Interstate 15 and Whitetail Reservoir. Originally determined to be about 0.1 acres and having “low spread potential” in terrain largely inaccessible to ground-based firefighting, the fire “rekindled” and grew to about 1 acre on Aug. 4, according to the forest and the Sheriff’s Office. Helicopters were dropping water on the fire as deemed necessary, and the Forest Service had been monitoring the fire, according to the fire’s page on InciWeb, a national interagency database of wildfires. As of Monday night, the page had not been updated since Aug. 7.
“Smoke from this fire will continue to be visible from I-15 and the Elk Park area for some time to come,” the Sheriff’s Office stated.
Gatlin Gulch Fire
The Gatlin Gulch Fire remained mostly contained early this week, with containment estimated at 70% on Aug. 9. The fire burned about 52 acres and hadn’t grown in about two weeks as of Tuesday.
An Aug. 12 update on the fire’s InciWeb page stated that “This will be the final update for the Gatlin Gulch Fire unless significant activity occurs. Fire crews and heavy equipment, along with assistance from aviation resources, worked to create and improve safe access to and from the fire, construct fireline, and aggressively eliminate heat sources near the fire’s edge.”
At that time, full containment was estimated for Aug. 15, this past Sunday, and a forecast of fire activity predicted “minimal fire activity” and “smoldering.”
The Gatlin Gulch Fire started around 2 p.m. on July 30 about 5 miles southwest of Boulder, about 1 mile off of Little Boulder Road to the north, between that road and North Fork Road. The fire grew to 40 acres by July 31 and 60 acres on Aug. 1, based on perimeter estimates shared by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office and U.S. Forest Service, which were revised down slightly once more accurate mapping was conducted.
Public access has been restored to the area, including to Little Boulder Road.
