Photo By Rick Emert | FORT CARSON, Colo. — Fort Carson Fire Department and other agencies battle the Wild...... read more read more
By Scott Prater
Mountaineer staff
FORT CARSON, Colo. — Fort Carson firefighters had achieved 60% containment, as of press time Wednesday, of a wildfire that started Oct. 11, 2020.
The blaze ignited west of Colorado Highway 115, but winds hovering above 40 mph helped push the fire, known as the Wild Horse Fire, over the highway and onto Fort Carson property the same day.
By Oct. 12, 2020, wind gusts had amplified the wildfire, and crews watched as it grew to over 500 acres south of Gate 6 and north of Turkey Creek. However, calmer winds and effective mitigating measures allowed firefighters to gain considerable control throughout the day.
Fort Carson Fire Chief Robert Fisher said fire crews, with assistance from bull dozers supplied by the Directorate of Plans, Training, Mobilization and Security, constructed firebreaks that proved effective at limiting the spread of the wildfire, while UH-60 Black Hawk crews, provided by the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, used Bambi buckets to douse problem areas.
By Oct. 13, 2020, Fort Carson fire crews, assisted by local fire departments and government organizations, had gained 40% control, and the blaze had not threatened homes or other structures.
Mutual aid partners including the following departments were working on the scene: Colorado Highway 115, Security, Colorado Springs, Cimarron Hills, Colorado Springs Utilities, the U.S. Forest Service, Tri Lakes, Wescott, Palmer Lake and El Paso County Wildland.
“Our suppression and mitigation efforts would not have gone as smoothly without our mutual aid partners,” Fisher said. “Partnerships play a pivotal role in making operations like this a success.”
Starting just north of Turkey Creek, the Wild Horse Fire burned roughly 670 acres in areas the Army uses for training.
No structures were threatened.
All firefighting assets external to Fort Carson have since been released and ongoing assessments have shown there is no danger to people or infrastructure on the installation.
Nearly 100 firefighters worked to bring the blaze under control Monday and more than 80 continued fighting the fire Tuesday.
Fort Carson crews remained on the ground during the following days to fight any potential hot spots, though incident commanders said smoke may be still be visible from Colorado Highway 115 for the next few days.
Despite containment of the Wild Horse Fire, Fisher said Fort Carson and the local area could remain in extreme fire danger status for quite a while.
“We are facing a time of limited moisture,” he said. “There is a lot of dry fuel out there, so early notification and early response is important so that firefighters can get to a fire before it grows too much. I cannot stress the importance enough about the support from our mutual aid partners, and both from our installation leadership and elements on the installation. It takes those additional resources for operations like this to be successful.”
| Date Taken: | 10.14.2020 |
| Date Posted: | 10.15.2020 13:48 |
| Story ID: | 380982 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 38 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Carson firefighters battle Mother Nature, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
