Indian Gulch Fire contained, single firefighting crew remains on scene

JEFFERSON COUNTY – An incident commander from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office took charge of what remains of the Indian Gulch Fire early Saturday as the fire-fighting effort dwindled to a single crew and two fire engines hours after the blaze reached 100 percent containment.

And investigators looking into the cause of the 1,570-acre fire continued hoping that the public will come up with information vital to pinpointing the source of the blaze.

“The fire appears to have started along Indian Gulch north of (U.S.) Highway 6.  Investigators have ruled out all other viable ignition sources and have determined that the fire was human caused,” according to Sheriff’s Department spokesman Mark Techmeyer.

The investigators want to talk to people who noticed anything or anyone unusual or suspicious along U.S. 6 between Tunnel 1 and Colorado Highway 58 or along Golden Gate Canyon Road west of Colo. Highway 93 and east of Mount Galbraith Park between 8 a.m. Sunday morning and early Sunday afternoon.  Anyone with information should call the Sheriff’s Office tip line at 303-271-5612.

U.S. 6 reopened to traffic between Highway 119 and Highway 58 in Golden late Friday after hillsides soaked by aerial water and retardant drops forced officials to close the busy highway along Clear Creek because of increased potential for falling rocks.

As many as 287 structures had been remained threatened by the Indian Gulch Fire, which required more than 400 firefighters to hold back the flames. An evacuation order affecting 17 homes and more than 80 businesses was rescinded late Tuesday, but officials held out the possibility of further evacuations for days as the fire ran across steep, difficult terrain with no road access.

No injuries were reported in the fire’s six-day advance.

Access along Golden Gate Canyon Road also had been restricted to avoid traffic conflicts in the staging area.

The fire started Saturday morning, March 20 and spread quickly, burning through the Ponderosa pine and Douglas fir forest carpeted by forest debris and extremely dry grass.

The Indian Gulch Fire and two smaller ones prompted the three-member Board of County Commissioners to issue a “Disaster/Emergency Declaration.” The declaration enables the county to call in state and federal fire-fighting resources and to seek reimbursement for part of the cost of fighting the fire.

“The fires are in areas where it is difficult for emergency services to respond and weather is under Red Flag conditions, which will increase the risk of additional fires. The need for outside resources to include air and ground resources will exceed Jefferson County’s capabilities,” according to a county statement released after commissioners issued the emergency declaration

The smaller fires, one near Evergreen and another near Conifer, were quickly contained.

The three fires also prompted Jeffco Sheriff Ted Mink to issue a temporary fire ban prohibiting any “open flame” including trash and debris burning, charcoal fires, most outdoor smoking and other activities on both public and private land in unincorporated Jefferson County. See the entire fire ban at: http://www.co.jefferson.co.us/jeffco/news_uploads/hot_topics/sheriff_fire_ban.pdf.

A national Incident Management Team from the Great Basin Coordination Center, an interagency group that coordinates firefighting efforts, directed the control efforts.  “There has been tremendous community support for the firefighters’ efforts which has directly benefited all the work done so far on the fire” said Incident Commander Rowdy Muir of the Great Basin Incident Management Team.

“Our work has also been significantly aided by our working relationship with Sheriff Mink and everyone at the Sheriff’s Office, Jefferson County, and the Colorado State Forest Service and is an excellent example of the benefits of interagency cooperation for suppressing interface fires such as the Indian Gulch Fire.”