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Two Backcountry Fires Break Out At Rocky Mountain National Park

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Published Date

August 31, 2018
Forest Canyon Fire near Trail Ridge Road/NPS

Two fires, including the Forest Canyon Fire shown here, flared up Thursday in Rocky Mountain National Park/NPS

Two small fires were burning Friday morning in the backcountry of Rocky Mountain National Park, where firefighters were hiking in to attack the blazes.

One fire was burning near Mirror Lake in the northern section of the park. A second fire was in the Forest Canyon area below Trail Ridge Road between Rock Cut and Forest Canyon overlook. Trail Ridge Road remained open, unless fire conditions change. Upper Beaver Meadows Road was to be closed, due to the potential of aviation operations Friday. 

There were overflights Thursday of the fires to determine how best to manage the firs. The Mirror Fire was burning near treeline in mostly spruce fir forest. The Forest Canyon Fire was burning in lodgepole. The Mirror Fire was initially estimated at one-tenth of an acre, while the Forest Canyon Fire was approximately 3-5 acres. Both fires were burning in areas where more than 50 percent of the forest had been killed by recent insect outbreaks.

Trail closures were in place for the Mirror Lake Trail, from the junction with the Mummy Pass Trail northbound to Mirror Lake. The Comanche Peak trail was closed from the park boundary southbound to Mirror Lake. Wilderness campsite closures included the Mirror Lake site and the Koenig stock site. Reservations for these backcountry sites were canceled until further notice.

The cause of the fires have not yet been determined. However, a thunderstorm with lightning moved through the Forest Canyon area Thursday afternoon.

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Comments

Submitted by Tom on September 4, 2018 - 1:19pm.

Be interesting to know why two fires in a remote location are being suppressed rather than being allowed to burn, at least to some extent, under a monitoring strategy.  The fire activity in Colorado is moderate, some other agencies in the state are not fully suppressing their current fires, and fire would be quite useful in thinning out all those dead trees, especually since working around dead trees can be hazardous to firefighter safety. 


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