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KOAA News 5 Southern Colorado
Dinosaur Fire in Boulder expected to be fully contained by afternoon
By Stephanie Butzer,
2024-07-12
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 The trails in pink here are closed due to the Dinosaur Fire. They include Bear Canyon, Mallory Cave, NCAR Bear Connector, Skunk Canyon, NCAR Table Mesa and part of the Mesa Trail.
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.
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."
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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