Single Publication

Saint Charles Fire Update 

Tuesday, October 31, 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.  

Current Situation: The Saint Charles Fire is 492 acres and 99% contained.  Rocky Mountain Complex Incident Management Team 1 will be transitioning management of the fire to a local Type 4 incident management team.  Some of the current personnel on the fire will continue to help the Type 4 team. Snowy and muddy conditions remain around much of the fire making driving and access difficult.  

Firefighters did not return to the line yesterday due to hazardous driving conditions and limited access to the fireline. Equipment retrieval and fire suppression repair activities will resume today. Tasks for today include chipping of the fuels that had been removed during fireline creation in the area of the Scout Camp off Hwy 165. Crews are performing “backhaul”, the packaging and removal of supplies and equipment from the fireline. Necessary firefighting equipment is left in place while items which have served their purpose, such as hoses, and other structure protection supplies, need to be accounted for and removed from the fire area. These backhauled items will be sent back to the cache to be cleaned, inventoried, and restocked for the next fire. 

Weather,  Fuels, and Fire Behavior: Sunny, with a high near 50. Warmer temperatures and drier conditions are predicted throughout the week. By Friday, the highs for the day are predicted to be above the seasonal average.  Heavier fuels and unburned pockets will continue to burn within the perimeter and show occasional smoke. 

Closures, and Fire Restrictions: 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.  

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/. 

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:  492 acres  

Containment: 99% 

Total Personnel: 330 

Location: 7 Miles SW of Beulah, CO 

Reported: October 14, 2023 

Cause: lightning 

For More Information:   Information Phone: 970-628-0130 (public) 

  Email: 2023.saintcharles@firenet.gov 

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

  Facebook: www.facebook.com/SaintCharlesFire 

  YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/@SaintCharlesFireInformation 

  Interactive Map:  https://tinyurl.com/SaintCharlesFireInteractiveMap 

  Text Alerts: Text SaintCharlesFire to 77295. Text and data rates apply.