Single Publication

Saint Charles Fire Update 

Thursday, October 26, 2023 – 9:00 a.m. 

Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1 

Dan Dallas, Incident Commander  

Information Phone: 970-628-0130 

Email: 2023.saintcharles@firenet.gov  

Information Staffing Hours: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

Special Note:  An InciWeb page has been created for the incident and can be accessed at https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/copsf-saint-charles-fire.  In addition, the Pueblo County Sheriff’s Office, in coordination with the Incident Management Team and Custer County Sheriff’s Office, has established an opt-in messaging service where important information related to the Saint Charles Fire can be obtained via text message. To activate the service, text SaintCharlesFire to 77295. Text and data rates apply.  

Current Situation: Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1 (RM CIMT1) assumed management responsibility of the Saint Charles Fire at 9:30 pm on October 25, 2023.  The team is one of three CIM teams in the Rocky Mountain geographic area. The team thanks the Type 3 Incident Management Team, local firefighters and law enforcement resources who have been managing the fire since it was reported. 

As a fire gets larger and additional resources are brought in, the fire is broken into geographic areas called Divisions to help focus suppression efforts and help with supervisory span of control. We use these terms in our updates to provide specific information about each part of the fire perimeter. Divisions will be shown on accompanying fire maps. 

Division A: On the north side of the fire, in Division A, firefighters will be holding and improving the existing fireline to keep the fire in check in anticipation of the Red Flag Warning today.  Fire managers are scouting the area north of the fire to look for potential containment opportunities in the event the current lines do not hold.  

Division D: On the west side of the fire, in Division D, dozer line has been put in place near San Isabel, along the Forest Service boundary, working north along the fire perimeter and tying into existing roads.  Firefighters will continue prepping this area in the event the fire pushes to the west and threatens structures or firing operations need to occur.  Along the southern perimeter in this division, firefighters will mop up hot spots and cold trail along the fire perimeter working eastward.  Cold trailing is a method of controlling an inactive fire edge by carefully inspecting and feeling the ground to detect heat.  Any hot areas that are found will be mopped up and lined to prevent fire movement.  

Division K: Along the south perimeter, in Division K, fire managers will be scouting for potential indirect control features that can be used to contain the fire.  Yesterday retardant line was put in place along the northeast, east, and southeast perimeter to help slow fire spread to the east.  This work will continue today as long as weather conditions allow. 

Structure Protection: Structure assessments are mostly completed on the east side of Highway 165 and will begin on the west side of the highway today. 

Weather,  Fuels, and Fire Behavior:  

The National Weather Service in Pueblo has issued a Red Flag Warning for gusty winds and low relative humidity, which is in effect from 11 AM to 7 PM MDT Thursday.  Westerly winds gusting up to 35 mph and relative humidity values falling into the mid-teens are likely. A change of weather pattern is expected beginning with the passage of a cold front on Friday.   

Evacuations, Closures, and Fire Restrictions: 

Simonson Meadows in Pueblo County and Aspen Acres, Tara J, and the San Isabel area in Custer County remain on pre-evacuation notice. To sign up for emergency alerts please visit https://www.custercounty-co.gov/ (Custer County) or https://www.pueblosheriff.com/242/Emergency-Telephone-Notification (Pueblo County). 

Pueblo County implemented a burn ban on October 24, 2023.  More information can be found at https://www.pueblosheriff.com/162/Emergency-Management. Custer County initiated Stage 1 fire restrictions on October 24, 2023.  More information can be found at https://www.custercounty-co.gov/. 

An Area Closure is in place for the fire area on the San Carlos Ranger District of the Pike-San Isabel National Forests & Cimarron and Comanche National Grasslands (PSICC). For additional information, visit: https://www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/psicc/alerts-notices. 

Wildfires are a no-fly zone for unauthorized aircraft, including drones. If you fly, we can’t.  For more information, visit http://knowbeforeyoufly.org. 

Fire Statistics: 

Size:  330 acres  

Containment: 0% 

Total Personnel: 227 with more resources arriving 

Location: 7 Miles SW of Beulah, CO 

Reported: October 14, 2023 

Cause: lightning 

For More Information: 

  Information Phone: 970-628-0130 

  Email: 2023.saintcharles@firenet.gov 

  InciWeb: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/copsf-saint-charles-fire 

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/SaintCharlesFire