Wildland fire in Deer Creek Canyon, evacuations in progress

ICFPD @ICFPD 2min ago
Fire crews have now had time in daylight to view fire. The #deercreekcanyonparkfire is now at 50% containment.

Thursday evening the #DeerCreekCanyonParkFire saw 110 firefighters, 36 fire apparatus plus @jeffcosheriffco, @JeffcoOpenSpace, Jefferson County Road & Bridge and many other agencies protecting homes and residents

Winds in area of #DeerCreekCanyonParkFire are picking up but temperatures remain low. This morning firefighters will focus on improving the perimeter fire line and attacking hot spots within the burn area. Friday morning conditions are much quieter but that could change with increasing temperatures and decreasing humidity.

Hand crews will work the #DeerCreekCanyonParkFire this morning after dawn. Working in the rough terrain involves hiking through rocks, burning vegetation and potential snakes! The #DeerCreekCanyonParkFire is a “dirty burn” with significant amounts of unburned fuel within the fire perimeter requiring extensive work to dig into smoldering vegetation

No homes have been damaged and none are currently threatened. Firefighters from @ICFPD and @nffpd1 as well as @jeffcosheriffco patrolled area of #deercreekcanyonparkfire all night.

From Jeffco West Transportation:
Due to the fire on S. Deer Creek Road. Route W-12 who services Conifer High School and West Jeff Middle will only be permitted to travel as far as Deer Creek Canyon Road and S. Deer Creek Rd. The bus will wait until 6:25 and will continue back on route. W-16 who services West Jeff Elementary will hold at that same location until 8:03 for students who wish to utilize the bus. Thank you for your cooperation and our thoughts and prayers are with all who reside in that area. West Transportation

Edit to add: Jeffco Sheriff @jeffcosheriffco 29s
MEDIA: We will be holding a press conference at our South Sub Station at 11139 Bradford RD at 9am regarding the #deercreekcanyonparkfire It will also be live-streamed on our Twitter & Facebook #jeffco

Jeffco Sheriff @jeffcosheriffco 3m
Anyone with drones do NOT fly them in the area of the #deercreekcanyonparkfire because it will hinder firefighting operations #JeffCo Thank you


All of these @JeffcoOpenSpace parks remains closed all day today: South Valley Park, Hildebrand Ranch Park and Deer Creek Canyon Park are all closed due to fire. Crews are on scene working to contain the fire.

Live-stream of the media briefing
Facwbook: www.facebook.com/JeffersonCountySheriff/...os/2490210121017331/
Twitter

Over 130 firefighters on scene. Rough estimate on size is 20-25 acres, they'll have a better idea once they complete a flyover. They are hopeful they can lift evacuations later today, will assess as the day progresses.

They are considering this a human-caused fire, the investigation continues. Witnesses heard explosions, saw 2 juvenile male figures running. If anyone has more information they can share about this, please call the Sheriff's non-emergency line 303-271-0211.

Deer Creek Canyon Park, South Valley Park, and Hildebrand Ranch Park will remain closed indefinitely due to the #DeerCreekCanyonParkFire and fire operations.

Please follow @jeffcosheriffco on Twitter or Jefferson County Sheriff's Office on Facebook for the most current updates.

Photo by Justin T. Smith

The restrictions on roadways will be lifted for residents starting at 1pm. If you live on Grizzly or Cougar, you'll need to prove your residency, but you will be allowed back to your home.

The fire is 100% contained. Apparatus and firefighters will remain in the area, please be careful of them.

The three Jeffco Open Space parks will remain closed until further notice, likely through the weekend.

Twitter update

Full update from Jeffco Sheriff:
Deer Creek Canyon Park Fire 1 p.m. Friday, Aug. 16 update

As of 1 p.m. on Friday, August 16, the fire is 100 percent contained, the evacuations have been lifted and residents can return to their homes.

Residents who live off of Grizzly or Cougar roads will be asked to show their identification to get back into their neighborhoods. This is because there is still heavy firefighting apparatus and firefighters in the area. Please be cautious and keep in mind that there might be people and equipment in the roads.

Although the fire is 100 percent contained, firefighters are continuing to work on hotspots.

The evacuation center at Ken Caryl Ranch House is closed as of 1:30 p.m. The small and large animal centers are also closed as of 1 p.m.

The three JeffCo Open Space parks—Deer Creek, Hildebrandt Ranch and South Valley—remain CLOSED and likely will be through the entire weekend. Please watch our Twitter and Jeffco Open Space, CO Twitter account for when these parks reopen.

The investigation into the cause of the fire remains ongoing and more information will be released when it’s available.

We would like to thank all of our local, state and federal agencies for their assistance as well as our residents and volunteers for all of their support.

Update: S. Valley Park will reopen tomorrow morning August 17.

Closed: Deer Crk Canyon Park & Hildebrand Ranch Park will remain closed due to fire ops.

Please respect closures for safety of personnel conducting ops and inspections, thank you.

Jeffco Sheriff @jeffcosheriffco 25m
#DeerCreekCanyonParkFire update: firefighters are putting out hotspots so smoke may be seen. Fire still contained. Deer Creek Canyon RD is open. Grizzly RD is closed from Deer Creek to Bear Claw. Deer Creek Canyon Park remains CLOSED. Follow @JeffcoOpenSpace for reopening