How to Help Those Affected by the Lower North Fork Fire

FINANCIAL GIFTS ARE THE BEST WAY TO HELP

• Financial Support to voluntary agencies responding to disasters is the most effective way to help.


• Cash allows disaster agencies to purchase exactly what is needed.


• To make a financial gift to the organization of your choice, dial 2-1-1 or 866-760-6489 for a list of reputable agencies responding to the disaster.
  

VOLUNTEERING

• Do not go to the scene of a disaster.


• The arrival of unexpected volunteers will interfere with response efforts.


• Stay safe by volunteering with a reputable agency.


• Volunteers will be needed most during the recovery phase. Please be patient and wait until relief agencies can train you and use your help.


• If you want to volunteer dial 2-1-1 or 866-760-6489.

MATERIALS NEEDED

• Listen carefully to public service announcements for a list of needed items.
  


• Donate only those things that are requested by officials and bring them to the official designated collection centers.


• Items not needed may go to waste and get in the way of relief efforts.


• It may take a few days to determine what items are needed and to set-up officially designated collection centers to receive them.


• If you want to make a donation, dial 2-1-1 or 866-760-6489.

OTHER WAYS TO HELP

• Financial contributions are the most effective way to help.


• Hold a yard sale or put on a fund-raising event and donate money raised to a voluntary organization responding to this disaster.


• Have you already collected goods but can't find an agency that needs them? Donate items to a local charitable agency.
  

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/2012 2025

Final Lower North Fork Fire update for Tuesday

The Lower North Fork Fire did not advance much today; the size of the fire zone remains at about 4,500 acres. The focus of tonight’s efforts will continue to focus on structure protection.

Wednesday’s weather forecast is calling for winds that are about 8-14 MPH gusting to 20 MPH at times with a high temperature of 70+ degrees. We have two helicopters, a Heavy P2V Aircraft and Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) scheduled to continue dropping fire retardant, weather permitting.

Century Link and the Intermountain Rural Electric Association (IREA) will be given access to the fire zone on Wednesday. Century Link and IREA will be evaluating utility damages and will begin to formulate a plan to restore services to the affected areas.

The Type 1 Federal Incident Management Team will take command of the incident on Wednesday afternoon. No further informational updates will be given from Elk Creek Fire #1; the Incident Command Post will be relocated to Conifer High School. A press briefing will be conducted at 7:30 AM on Wednesday morning at Conifer High School.

Lower North Fork Fire Photos

Photos taken at about 1:50 PM

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/12 1822

Video from 3/27/2012 at about 4:00 PM

Lower North Fork Fire Update: 3/27/11, 1600

Additional Information is Available Regarding the Two Confirmed Fatalities.

Two confirmed fatalities have been found within the fire zone. The two bodies were found located near each other at the same address. One body was discovered inside the home, the other was found outside. The Coroner has positively identified the two individuals as a married couple: Samuel Lucas 77, and Linda Lucas 76.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a death investigation.

The Sheriff's Office is also partnering with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the circumstances surrounding the origin of the fire.

The Sheriff’s Office has also been notified of an additional unaccounted for adult female associated with the fire. We do know that she does live within the fire perimeter.

We have confirmed that 23 homes have been damaged by the fire. We are currently confirming addresses before notifying the owners of the homes.

The current affected acreage is estimated to be 4500 burned acres. We do have a SEAT (Single Engine Air Tanker) and a Heavy Tanker dropping retardant. We also have two Helicopters, from Buckley Air Force Base, dropping water on the fire.

Throughout the day we have seen continued and increased erratic fire behavior. Due to this behavior a pre-evacuation notice was sent to 6500 homes. Those home that were notified included homes located in City View, Hilldale Pines, Deer Creek Mesa, White Deer Valley, Homewood Park, Murphy Gulch, S. Deer Creek Canyon Rd., Jennings Rd., and Watson Gulch.

We have approximately 200 Firefighters currently on the fire. At this time we are still at 0% containment. Throughout the day firefighters have been taking advantage of ‘targets of opportunity’ to control the fire near homes.

Earlier in the day the fire strategy was more aggressive but due to the erratic nature of the fire responders had to revert back to a defensive strategy. This strategy prioritizes structure protection over aggressively suppressing the fire.
Structure protection thus remains the primary focus tonight and will remain so into tomorrow.

We have not been fighting this fire alone! The Incident Command Post has been overwhelmed with food donations. We are very grateful for the generous donations that have come from across the community. Due to the overwhelming response, however, we are requesting that the community refrain from bringing any additional donations to the command post.

Please stay tuned for additional updates. We will continue to use this blog site to post new updates. We will also continue to use @JeffcoSheriffCo to post updates on Twitter.

Lower North Fork Fire Photos

Photos were taken at about 1:50 PM

E911 Sign UP Instruction Change: 3/27/12 1535

The number that was previously posted referring people to set up the E-911 alerts has been removed due to the fact that the system was being overloaded. We are asked to now refer people to http://your911.net.

Also: If the address of your phone is not in Broomfield or Jefferson Counties, you will not be able to register.

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/12 1520

Jeffco Coroner's Office Confirms Identity of Fatalities
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office has identifed the two fatalities from the Lower North Fork Fire. The husband and wife were identified as Samuel Lucas, 77, and Linda Lucas, 76.

Lower North Fork Fire Shelter Update 3/27/12 1500

The Conifer High School shelter will be relocating to West Jefferson Middle School at 6:00 PM tonight. West Jefferson Middle School is located at 9449 Barnes Avenue.

This move is being conducted to allow the Incident Command Post and 500+ firefighters to utilize the larger facilities available at Conifer High School.

How to Sign up to Receive Emergency Notification

To register your phone to receive Emergency notifications updates visit: http://jeffco.us/sheriff/code-red-emergency-notifications/

UPDATE:
The number that was posted referring people to set up the CodeRED alerts has been removed due to the fact that the system was being overloaded. We are asked to now refer people to http://your911.net.

Also: If the address of your phone is not in Broomfield or Jefferson Counties, you will not be able to register.

Updated Map: 3/27/12 at 1400

The area inside the bold blue line is the original evacuation area. This does not include the 6,500 homes that received the recent pre-evacuation notice. If those homes do recieve a mandatory evacuation order we will update the map accordingly.


View Larger Map

Road Closure Update Regarding S. Foxton Rd: 2/27/12 at 1330

There is no access to Pleasant Park Road from Foxton Road.

Traffic can access S. Foxton Rd from Highway 285 in order to reach the Red Cloud Subdivision.

S. Foxton Road is closed at the Running Deer Road intersection south to Platte River Road.

Lower North Fork Fire Update: 3/27/12 at 1325

Jefferson County Sheriff's Office Dispatch has sent out a pre-evacuation notice to 6,500 homes located in regions north of the existing evacuation area.

These areas include the following areas:
Dear Creek Mesa
Deer Creek Canyon Park
Homewood Park
Hilldale Pines
South Murphy Gulch Road
Watson Gulch Road
South East of S. Turkey Creek Rd
White Deer Valley
Jennings Road

UPDATE: The pre-evacuation order sent to the additional 6500 homes was not due to the spot fire located 1 mile north of Waterton Canyon. That spot fire did in fact flare up but the primary reason the homes were sent the pre-evacuation notice was the fact that current weather conditions have caused the fire to act in an erratic manner which may threaten those 6500 homes.

Also: Next media briefing is scheduled for 4:00 PM located at the Elk Creek Fire Station 1.

Photos From Lower North Fork Fire

Pictures taken on 3/26/12 at approximately 4:00 PM

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/2012 1230

A Public Information Officer is stationed at the Staples Shopping Center parking lot located at 10853 US Highway 285. He will provide information on the Lower North Fork Fire to anyone with questions.

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/2012 1159

Air support has started to arrive with a Single Engine Air Tanker (SEAT) and a heavy P2V airplane dropping fire retardant over the Lower North Fork Fire Zone. Two National Guard helicopters are enroute from Buckley Air Force Base to start dropping water.

Major Road closures are as follows:

Foxton Road & Running Deer Road
Pleasant Park Road & Oehlmann Park Road
Deer Creek Canyon Road & Maxwell Hill
South Platte River Road to Foxton Road

Please be aware that law enforcement personnel may close additional roads as needed.

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/12 1140

The Chatfield High School shelter is closed; if you need a shelter go to Conifer High School.

Direct all questions regarding animal rescue and sheltering to Animal Control at 303-271-4923; do not call Jeffco Dispatch.

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/12 1115

Second Fatality Confirmed Within the Fire Zone

A second fatality has been discovered within the fire zone near the location of the first. Both fatalities are being investigated by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

The fire has grown to 4,500 acres. Sixteen structures have burned thus far; that number is subject to change. The Type 1 Incident Management Team from the Great Basin Area of Montana is expected to arrive this evening to assist in the management of the incident.

Colorado Lt. Governor Garcia is expected to visit the fire zone today.

The next press briefing will occur at 4:00 PM at Elk Creek Fire Statoin #1.

Continue to follow this blog site as well as @JeffcoSheriffCo on Twitter for more updates.

Animal Shelter Update

Jeffco Fairgrounds is currently housing 69 horses, 30 Alpacas and Llamas and 2 cows. In addition, 22 small animals were sheltered over night at Conifer High School.

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/2012 0920

The Lower North Fork Fire is at 0% containment with no controlled fire line. However, current fire fighting strategy has changed from point protection to active fire suppression.

Grass, shrubs and “duff” are fueling the fire along with Ponderosa Pine Trees. The Ponderosa Pines will typically burn hot and continuous until they are nothing more than white ash. Heavy tree canopies combined with high temperatures and a lack of humidity are contributing to the volatile conditions as well.

Hot Shot Fire Crews are on the way from Utah, Arizona and South Dakota; upon arrival they will be immediately deployed to the fire zone.

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/12 0915

Be advised that the Chatfield High School evacuation point has been shut down. Primary evacuation point remains Conifer High School.

Video from Lower North Fork Fire

This video was taken in the afternoon on 3/26/12.

Lower North Fork Fire Perimeter as of 3/26/12 @ 2300

View Lower North Fork Wildfire in a larger map

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/11 0715

A media briefing was held at 0630. The following information was shared

25 people sheltered overnight at the Conifer High School Evacuation Point.

The fire is estimated to be over 3050 acres

Over 450 firefighters are expected to be working the fire by the end of the day.

A Lead Plane has been ordered from Ogden, Utah

A Heavy Tanker and a Heavy Heli-Tanker has been ordered. Deployment of air support is dependent on weather conditions.

The confirmed fatality is not an emergency response member but likely a resident or visitor to the area.

PIOs have been dispatched to the Conifer High School Evacuation Point. They will conduct a citizen briefing at approximately 0745 hours.

Somewhere between 15-25 structures and/or outbuildings have been lost due to the fire.

We are working to provide an up to date evacuation and fire area map. The release of this data has been delayed due to our desire to only share verified data.

Lower North Fork Fire Update 3/27/11 0615

A Media Briefing is scheduled for 0630. Command and General Staff meetings will be taking place at 0700. We will continue to use this blog to post pertinent information as it comes available. You can also follow the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office on Twitter by following @JeffcoSheriffCo. We are posting updates to the #LowerNorthForkFire hashtag. Thank you to all for remaining diligent and safe during this effort.