Cherry Creek Wildland Fire

On February 7th, 2021 at 16:10 South Metro Fire Rescue responded to a brush fire on the east side of the Cherry Creek State Park reservoir in unincorporated Arapahoe County. When firefighters arrived on scene, they found a brush fire with large flame lengths moving quickly as it was being fueled by high wind speeds and dry conditions. As the fire jumped a road inside the park and grew towards a residential community west of Parker Rd., the call was changed to a wildland urban interface fire – bringing extra resources to the scene for larger fire suppression efforts. Evacuations were ordered for people inside the park as well as the residents living nearby in case firefighters were not able to contain the fire before it extended further. Luckily, crews were able to stop the fire from extending to structures in the community with help from a decent fire break that separates the homes that back up to the state park. Due to the rapid changes in wind speed direction and resulting size of the fire, firefighters split up into different divisions to focus on multiple tasks in gaining control of the fire perimeter. Crews were able to stop the threat to the residential area, therefore lifting the evacuation order. However, the wind caused the fire to make a run to the northwest inside the park burning into trees and other dry vegetation. Firefighters used a variety of techniques, including burn out operations to help slow the head of the fire. Due to the continued active nature of this wildfire, a few units stayed on scene overnight to monitor and put out hot spots that flared up. The weather on Sunday evening and into Monday provided snowfall, but the low temperatures also created conditions for water pumps to have the potential to freeze on the fire apparatus. The fire burned 234 acres. Additional information was provided by South Metro Fire Rescue

Units on Scene:

South Metro: Battalion 1, Battalion Chief 2, Battalion Chief 5, District Chief 1, District Chief 10, Safety 18, Safety 35, Med 1, Ops 1, Ops 11, OEM 10, Brush 21, Brush 22, Brush 33, Brush 36, Brush 42, Brush 43, Brush 46, Brush Engine 39, Brush Engine 40, Brush Engine 41, Engine 22, Engine 31, Engine 38, Engine 42, Engine 44, Medic 21, Medic 32, Medic 33, Tower 35, Tender 39, Tender 41, Tender 45, Wildland 33, Wildland 41, PIO 10 & PIO 11.

South Metro Fire Marshal’s Office: Bureau 12, Bureau 13, Bureau 22, Bureau 23, Bureau 35.

South Metro Fire Emergency Communications: IDT 2, IDT 11 & IDT 30, OPS Channel 3, OPS Channel 5, Ops Channel 7, Ops Channel 9.

Arapahoe Rescue Patrol: Rehab 12

Aurora Fire Rescue: Battalion Chief 2, Brush 9, Engine 6 & Engine 7

Sable Altura Fire Rescue: Brush Engine 41

Franktown Fire Protection District: Brush 184

Arapahoe County Wildland Team: Brush 1, Brush 3, Tender 1, 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office Wildland Fire Team & Arapahoe County Sheriff