Oak Ridge Fire increases to 5% containment

UPDATE: MONDAY 7/1/2024 10:50 a.m.

(PUEBLO/CUSTER COUNTIES, Colo.) — Fire crews will host a community meeting to provide more information about the Oak Ridge Fire on Monday, July 1.

Fire managers, representatives from the U.S. Forest Service, and Pueblo County will be present to provide information on current and future fire activity, in addition to addressing community questions.

The meeting will be held at the Grandpasture Barn located at 7970 CO-78 in Beulah.

MONDAY 7/1/2024 9:30 a.m.

A morning update on Monday, July 1, for the Oak Ridge Fire said the fire remained at 1,190 acres, and containment has increased to around 5%.

According to fire crews, rain, and cloud cover over the weekend helped crews continue to implement hand lines and “box in” the fire. Crews said the fire is now at 5% containment and fire managers are confident the containment line will hold west of Beulah.

Fire crews did say that the containment percentage might decrease when strategic fire operations start and the fire’s acreage increases. In an update on Facebook, Oak Ridge Fire crews explained that the amount of contained fire line relative to the total acres of the fire determines containment percentages.

Oak Ridge Fire in pictures

“‘Containment’ indicates how much of the fire perimeter has been surrounded by a control line that the fire will not progress across. Rather than describing how much of the entire fire has been put out, containment refers solely to the perimeter itself and its potential for growth,”

Fire crews said due to the extreme terrain and values at risk near the perimeter of the fire, Fire managers are taking extra precautions before indicating a portion of the fire line is contained.

“The Incident Management Team will only change the status to ‘contained’ on an area when there is no heat on the perimeter, no chance for it to grow in that area, and when the line has been tested and has proven to hold regardless of the weather,” writes fire crews.

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