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High Park Fire | |
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![]() June 10th satellite image by NASA | |
Date(s) | June 9, 2012 – June 30, 2012 |
Location | Roosevelt National Forest, Larimer County, Colorado |
Coordinates | 40°35′20″N105°24′14″W / 40.589°N 105.404°W |
Statistics [1] [2] [3] | |
Burned area | 87,284 acres (353 km2) |
Impacts | |
Deaths | 1 |
Structures destroyed | 259 |
Ignition | |
Cause | Lightning |
Map | |
The High Park fire was a wildfire in the mountains west of Fort Collins in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. It was caused by a lightning strike and was first detected on the morning of June 9, 2012. [3] It was declared 100 percent contained on June 30, 2012, and all associated evacuation orders were lifted. [1] Disambiguation. In 2022 there was another fire called "High Park Fire." That fire started on 05/12/2022 6 miles west of Cripple Creek Colorado. The size at 89% containment (last report) was 1,572 acres. [4] Since wildland fire names are typically assigned by personnel on the fire and often based on local knowledge, it is not unusual to have more than one fire with the same name.
A 62-year-old woman was killed in the fire. [2] [5]
The High Park fire burned over 87,284 acres (136.381 sq mi; 353.23 km2), at the time it was the second-largest fire in recorded Colorado history by area burned. On the evening of August 18, 2020 the Pine Gulch Fire in Mesa and Garfield Counties grew to 125,108 acres overnight surpassing the High Park fire. [6] It destroyed at least 259 homes, compared to the Black Forest Fire with a number of 511 homes, [7] surpassing the number consumed by the 2010 Fourmile Canyon fire. The High Park fire became the third most destructive fire in Colorado history, in terms of the number of houses burned, [6] [8] but was surpassed about a week later by the Waldo Canyon fire. [9]
The High Park Fire was caused by lightning (the strike tree was located) and started in a difficult to access area above the Buckhorn Road in Larimer County Colorado. The fire was reported as a smoke column early in the morning on June 9, 2012. The area had been suffering from hot and dry conditions and fire danger was extreme. Multiple agencies responded for the initial attack, including http://www.rcvfd.org Rist Canyon Volunteer Fire Department (the fire started in RCVFD's area), Larimer County Emergency Services, Poudre Fire Authority, Poudre Canyon Fire Protection District, Colorado State Forest Service, USFS, and other local agencies. A SEAT (Single Engine Air Tanker) and helicopter were ordered immediately. The ignition point and foot of the fire was accessible only via 4wd road that would support apparatus no larger than Type 6x NWCG Engine Standards. The fire was named High Park as this is the local name for the area it burned.
Due to extreme burning conditions, poor access and rapid fire-spread, it became quickly clear the fire would impact multiple residential areas and evacuations were called for an increasing area through the day. Areas evacuated included Buckhorn Canyon, Paradise Parke, Stove Prairie, Flower Road, Rist Canyon, Paradise Park, Poudre Park, Poudre Canyon, Davis Ranch, Whale Rock, Pine Acres and other areas. The evacuation lasted nearly 21 days –– much longer than other large Colorado fires. Evacuation was conducted via reverse 911 calls, then by door-to-door visits by Fire Department and Law Enforcement. Since the area was served by overhead power and phone lines, power and phone were lost very rapidly. Furthermore, the area was not served by cellular service. These factors, plus damage to basic infrastructure, were key limiters in re-patriation. Residents would be returning to very dangerous conditions and with no effective communications.
High Park Fire burned aggressively and with high intensity for days. Two weeks after its ignition, the fire burned into a subdivision north of the Poudre River, where, despite days of preparation, it destroyed more than fifty homes.
Response to the High Park fire is recognized as a model good response. Agencies in the area have a long cooperative history with established and recognized ability to work together to a common goal regardless of agency boundaries. Fire and local agency responses were effective and well-coordinated. Furthermore, years (decades) of active work with residents to prepare for fire was effective. Many houses survived due to efforts made by landowners that allowed their homes to survive the fire front and gave fire fighters the benefit of time in defending and saving structures. Critical to that success was the thorough mapping and preparation done by local fire departments which allowed incoming fire fighters to be more effective, more rapidly.
Fourmile Canyon or Four Mile Canyon is a mountainous canyon in western Boulder County, Colorado that channels a stream known as Fourmile Creek or Four Mile Creek .). The stream rises at 40.048°N 105.550°W on the southern slope of Niwot Mountain, before flowing east and south through the unincorporated communities of Sunset, Wallstreet, Salina and Crisman to the confluence with Boulder Creek at 40.015°N 105.324°W in Boulder Canyon, four miles west of the historic location of the Boulder Railroad Depot.
Poudre Wilderness Volunteers (PWV) is a volunteer group that assists the Canyon Lakes Ranger District of the US Forest Service (USFS). Poudre Wilderness Volunteers recruits and trains volunteers to serve as wilderness rangers and hosts for the purpose of educating the public and providing other support to the USFS.
The Waldo Canyon fire was a forest fire that started approximately 4 miles (6.4 km) northwest of Colorado Springs, Colorado on June 23, 2012, and was declared 100 percent contained on July 10, 2012, after no smoke plumes were visible on a small portion of the containment line on Blodgett Peak. The fire was active in the Pike National Forest and adjoining areas, covering a total of 18,247 acres. The fire had caused the evacuation of over 32,000 residents of Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs and Woodland Park, several small mountain communities along the southwestern side of U.S. Highway 24, and partial evacuation of the United States Air Force Academy. There were 346 homes destroyed by the fire. U.S. Highway 24, a major east–west road, was closed in both directions. The Waldo Canyon Fire resulted in insurance claims totaling more than US $453.7 million. It was the most destructive fire in Colorado state history, as measured by the number of homes destroyed, until the Black Forest Fire surpassed it almost a year later when it consumed 486 homes and damaged 28 others.
The 2012 Colorado wildfires were an unusually devastating series of Colorado wildfires, including several separate fires that occurred throughout June, July, and August 2012. At least 34,500 residents were evacuated in June.
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In the summer of 2013, there were several major wildfires in Colorado in the United States. During June and July, record high temperatures and dry conditions fueled the fires all across the state. By July 24, 570 structures had been destroyed and 2 people died. Below is a list of the major fires of the year.
The Sand Fire was a wildfire in 2016 that burned in the Angeles National Forest, east of the Santa Clarita Valley in Los Angeles County, California. The fire, named for the area's Sand Canyon, was fueled by heavy chaparral and brush.
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The 2020 Loyalton Fire was a large wildfire in Lassen, Plumas and Sierra counties in California and Washoe County in Nevada. After it was ignited by lightning on August 14, 2020, the fire burned 47,029 acres (19,032 ha) in the Tahoe National Forest and the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest before it was fully contained on August 26. The Loyalton Fire was notable for generating three fire tornadoes on August 15, necessitating first-of-their-kind warnings by the National Weather Service.
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The Cameron Peak fire was a wildfire that started near Chambers Lake, Colorado, 25 miles (40 km) east of Walden and 15 miles (24 km) southwest of Red Feather Lakes near Cameron Pass on August 13, 2020, and was declared 100% contained on December 2, 2020. The fire burnt 208,663 acres through the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in Larimer and Jackson Counties and Rocky Mountain National Park. At its peak, the fire forced the evacuation of over 6,000 residents in Estes Park, Chambers Lake, Rustic, Glacier View Meadows, Red Feather Lakes, Masonville, Glen Haven, Spring Canyon, various small communities along Highway 14, Stove Prairie Landing Road, as well as the Colorado State University Mountain Campus and had over 1,000 personnel fighting the fire. 469 structures were destroyed by the fire, including 220 outbuildings and 42 primary residences. The fire became the largest wildfire in Colorado history, surpassing the Pine Gulch Fire, which had set the same mark just seven weeks prior.
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