Park County 821 Fire

Around 12:40 on September 28th, 2024 several 911 callers reported a 200’x200’ grass fire and plume of smoke in the Lost Creek Wilderness. The fire was burning in the Pike and San Isabel National Forest’s South Park Ranger District between Rd. 131-Pearl and Rd. 821-Cross Country, (south of Hwy. 285 and Kenosha Pass). The fire was burning on a south aspect with a light breeze and mostly terrain driven with slow to moderate rate of spread into stands of Aspen and coniferous trees. At 13:15 USDA Forest Service Engine 10-1 arrived on scene and the fire had grown to approximately 5-acres with an increase in fire behavior and single tree torching. The incident was named the “821 Fire” and local resources from Jefferson Como Fire Protection District and Hartsel Fire Protection District began arriving. Engine 10-1 started mobile attack on the left flank while Engines from Jefferson Como worked on the right flank. Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC) Canyon City Helitack dropped off firefighters and made numerous bucket drops. Park County Sheriff 8 and Sheriff 22 coordinated localized evacuations of campers ahead of the fire, and with no structures threatened a CodeRED emergency phone notification wasn’t necessary. Additional firefighters from North-West Fire Protection District and the Wildland Module from Platte Canyon Fire Protection District plugged in and worked on containment. At 15:10 Small Engine Airtankers (SEATs) from DFPC made 2 retardant drops on the left flank and firing operation was conducted. The fire size was estimated at 95 acres as of September 29th, 2024 and no injuries were reported.

Units on Scene:

USDA Forest Service: Division 10, Battalion 10, Engine 10-1, Engine 6112, Mod 10 & Patrol 10-1

Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control (DFPC): Canyon City Helitack & SEATs

Jefferson Como: Engine 65, Tender 62

Hartsel: Command 7-1

Northwest: Engine 423

 Platte Canyon: Wildland Module

Park County Sheriff’s Office, Park County Sheriff Fire Management & South Park Ambulance District