Willow Fire grows over 900 acres overnight, prompting new evacuations as suppression costs top $4 million
Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team 4/Courtesy image
The Willow Fire in Lake County grew more than 900 acres overnight into Sunday, July 5, prompting new evacuation orders as firefighters continue working to contain the blaze spreading west of Leadville.
The wildfire was estimated at 3,956 acres Sunday morning, according to the fire detection app Watch Duty. Saturday afternoon, the fire had grown to 2,969 acres and remained 0% contained.
But as of around 9:30 a.m. Sunday, July 5 — almost a full week after flames first sparked — the fire has been 1% contained, according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Willow Fire incident management team.
“Last night we had significant growth in the fire, mostly to the south,” said Lake County Sheriff Heath Speckman during a morning update Sunday.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office ordered mandatory evacuations for the Lake Fork, Stargazer Circle and County Road 11 areas, with residents instructed to leave by noon Sunday. Members of Lake County Search and Rescue and other law enforcement personnel knocked on doors in those neighborhoods Sunday morning to notify residents and assist with evacuations.
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Officials also moved Zone 6A into mandatory evacuation status and placed Zones 1, 4 and 7 under pre-evacuation notices. The Lake County Sheriff’s Office coordinated with Southwest Area Complex Incident Management Team 4 and the U.S. Forest Service to evaluate current fire behavior, weather, terrain and access routes.
The newly added pre-evacuation areas include Twin Lakes, the Pan-Ark subdivision, portions of Colorado Highway 24 and several county roads south of Leadville. Residents in those areas are encouraged to begin gathering medications, identification, chargers, important documents and supplies for pets and livestock while remaining alert for additional updates.
Colorado Mountain College is no longer serving as an evacuation shelter, according to the sheriff’s office. Residents needing shelter or re-entry “Salamander” cards should instead go to the public safety complex at 200 Steele Drive in Buena Vista or Battle Mountain High School at 151 Miller Ranch Road in Edwards. Speckman said the locations were established to the north and south of the fire to provide two different access points in the event of evacuation.
During an update Saturday evening, Speckman said more than 500 personnel have been assigned to the fire. He estimated suppression costs have reached approximately $4.2 million.
“That’s the cost to the Forest Service and the state of Colorado, so don’t worry, it’s not coming out of Lake County’s budget,” he said.
Despite the fire’s continued growth, Speckman said firefighters have successfully protected threatened infrastructure at the Leadville National Fish Hatchery, where the fire first sparked Sunday, June 28.
“Even though the fire has moved very close to the fish hatchery, all the firefighters have been protecting those structures in that area, and currently there’s no damage to any structures,” Speckman said.
Speckman added that no injuries have been reported.
“(It’s) pretty incredible to think that (with) over 500 people working the fire, nobody’s been hurt,” he said.
On Saturday, the sheriff’s office also established a new pre-evacuation Zone 9 encompassing portions of southern Leadville, including Stringtown, Saturday’s Fast Stop Travel Center, County Road 36 and surrounding neighborhoods.
“It provides us a layer of protection,” Speckman said. “If that fire starts to move close to Leadville, we’re ready to start evacuating all the zones that could be affected.”
Speckman said officials will provide as much advance notice as possible before issuing mandatory evacuation orders but warned that changing fire conditions could limit residents’ ability to return home.
“If the fire is moving faster than expected, we may not let you back into the area that’s affected, if it’s an immediate need,” he said Saturday evening.
