By Scott Prater
Mountaineer staff
PIÑON CAYON MANEUVER SITE, Colo. — Fort Carson firefighters partnered with multiple-agency firefighters to extinguish a large wildland fire at the post’s Piñon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) June 17-24, 2022.
The blaze, started by a lightning strike early on June 17, 2022, doubled in size by the next day and occurred in such a remote area of the training site that fire engines were incapable of reaching it, according to Peter Wolf, assistant fire chief of operations at PCMS and the incident commander for the wildfire, dubbed The Black Hills Fire.
“We were forced to fight it on foot, using shovels, axes, hoes and chainsaws,” Wolf said. “Eventually, we called in air assets, both to spread fire retardant and water.”
Firefighters from the nearby town of Hoehne, Colorado, initially assisted Fort Carson crews the morning of the 17th, but eventually, crews from various departments around the state and region combined to create a force of more than 200 firefighters on the scene.
The 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division, assisted in the fight, beginning on the second day, using UH-60 Black Hawks and CH-47 Chinooks with attached bambi buckets to douse portions of pivotal areas. Incident commanders also called in fire-fighting tanker airplanes. At one point, as many as 10 air assets were battling the fire at one time.
A flying air traffic controller communicated with pilots and ground crews on the scene to not only control the skies, but pinpoint specific areas of the fire for air crews to address.
“Things got complex real quick,” Wolf said. “We were beginning to plan for more than 300 personnel. And, when you have that many, you have logistical concerns to consider. We need to get the firefighters fed, for example, and create showers and bathrooms for them.”
By June 19, 2022, the situation seemed as if it might escalate. Pushed by winds and heat, the dry, heavy pinyon juniper and field grass native to the site provided plenty of fuel, and the Black Hills Fire grew quickly in a just a few hours. In less than two days, it doubled in size to about 1,600 acres.
As crews worked to dig lines in front of the fire, incident commanders were forced to make decisions about calling in additional crews and assets. Costs, logistics and capabilities all factored into those decisions.
As the blaze began gaining intensity, however, responders received a welcome bout of moisture.
“It rained on us for only about 5 minutes, but it was a hard rain, and it took a lot of heat out of the fire,” Wolf said. “It doesn’t take vegetation long to dry out again, but our aircrews did a great job of laying down retardant in front of the fire.”
A second round of moisture occurred again later in the week with a drizzling rain for up to three hours.
“The combination of our work and the rain helped us make good progress and we started to reach some containment,” Wolf said.
Though there are no housing structures in the area, Wolf said it was important to contain the fire as fast as possible since PCMS contains many features of historical significance and value, so saving those was a priority for commanders.
By June 20, 2022, fire-fighting crews took advantage of the moisture, allowing commanders to announce that the Black Hills Fire had reached 50 percent containment. Hot shot crews who had been brought in to assist were demobilized and they moved on to work another fire in South Dakota. Total firefighters on the scene dropped to 125 personnel.
Later in the week, on-site crews had begun mop-up duty, scouting for hot spots inside the perimeter.
Incident commanders said the fire burned roughly 1,880 acres and that it is 100 percent contained and controlled. Wolf thanked all the firefighters and organizations that assisted in the response effort, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the National Park Service and firefighters from Pueblo and Montrose, Colorado. Crews even traveled from Kansas to assist.
“The Forest Service provided solid support and personnel, the 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson garrison staff supported the actions we needed and helped us get tasks accomplished,” he said. “Also, the mobile kitchen (executed by the 115th Quartermaster Field Feeding Company, 68th Combat Sustainment Support Battalion, 4th Division Sustainment Brigade, 4th Inf. Div.) has been a true lifesaver, and we appreciate the team which came down with it since they have been amazing to work with. …”
| Date Taken: | 06.24.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 07.08.2022 14:54 |
| Story ID: | 424637 |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 35 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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