Dinosaur Fire in Boulder expected to be fully contained by afternoon

BOULDER, Colo. — Firefighters have reached 35% containment of the Dinosaur Fire, as it is being called, burning near the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder as of Saturday morning. They are expected to have the fire fully contained by Saturday afternoon.

The slow-moving fire has burned about three and a half acres around the second switchback on the Mallory Cave Trail, according to the Boulder Office of Disaster Management (OEM). The trail is a little less than a mile from the NCAR Mesa Laboratory. Initially, police said the fire was burning at NCAR , but this information was updated as the situation developed.

Mountain View Fire Rescue

Three fire aircraft responded, the OEM said . Seventy-five firefighters were working at the scene on Friday.

The Dinosaur Fire is not currently behaving in a way where evacuations are needed, the police department said.

Christopher Grady

However, Denver7 spoke with neighbors in the area who said they had gathered their important belongings just in case.

Police said nobody has been injured as of 12:42 p.m. and trails in the area — highlighted in red in the map below — are closed to the public.

Boulder OSMP

Multiple fire apparatuses are working at the scene, police said. The department is asking the public to not call 911 to report the fire . To receive text alerts about the Dinosaur Fire, text BOCOinfo to 888777.

Below is a video of what Denver7 crews saw around 11:45 a.m. Friday.

Fire burning on NCAR property in Boulder | July 12, 2024

Around 1:15 p.m., the smoke had diminished, as seen below.

Denver7

The National Science Foundation (NSF) NCAR Mesa Lab, located at 1850 Table Mesa Drive in Boulder, has been evacuated and is closed due to the fire, which is burning south of the campus, according to a campus alert . The road to the campus is also closed.

As of 12:45 p.m., NCAR Mesa Lab's website showed winds between 5 and 10 mph, with gusts between 10 and 20 mph for the next few hours.

This afternoon, wind gusts may increase briefly before settling back down.

NSF NCAR Mesa Laboratory

Around 1 p.m. the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) issued an air quality health advisory for the wildfire smoke for southern Boulder County. It will remain in effect until 9 a.m. Saturday.

The CDPHE said the Dinosaur Fire is "producing significant quantities of smoke," which prompted the advisory.

"Daytime impacts from this smoke are expected to remain highly localized in areas near the fire," the CDPHE said. "During the evening and overnight hours, Friday night and into Saturday morning, smoke will settle in areas below the fire, likely affecting southern portions of Boulder."

Boulder County enacted Stage 1 fire restrictions on July 1.

Fire investigators will determine the cause of the fire.

About two years ago in March 2022, a human-caused fire broke out on NCAR property, grew to 190 acres and forced thousands of people to evacuate , though nobody was injured and no structures were damaged. It was fully contained on April 1, 2022 .

Denver7 has a crew at the scene and we are working to learn more about the Dinosaur Fire. Refresh this page for updates.

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