Single Publication

Chris Mountain Fire Update 

July 7, 2023, 9am 

Rocky Mountain Area Complex Incident Management Team Three 

Matt Spring, Incident Commander  

Date Reported: June 28, 2023 

Cause: Lightning 

Size: 511 

Containment: 46% 

Total Personnel: 563 

Location: 12 Mile west-northwest of Pagosa Springs, CO 

Special notice: A Red Flag Warning has been issued today due to hot, dry, and windy conditions. 

Current Situation: Fire behavior was minimal yesterday, with containment increasing to 46%. Firefighters successfully added more containment to the southern edge of the fire where they had previously performed strategic burning operations. Today, they will continue to secure the fireline on the west and south edges of the fire. On the eastern side of the fire, crews will continue direct line construction in Devil Creek drainage, and they anticipate completion of this line in the coming days. Around the perimeter of the fire, firefighters are performing suppression repair. The goal of suppression repair is to return affected areas to pre-fire conditions as closely as possible. This includes activities such as repairing dozer lines and hand lines, installing erosion control features, and removing or chipping slash. Today, crews will perform chipping operations along Forest Road 689. Around Snow Angel Ranch, firefighters are removing unneeded equipment such as pumps and hoses and are rehabilitating fire line.  

Weather & Smoke Information: A Red Flag Warning has been issued today due to low relative humidity and the potential for high winds gusting to 35-40 mph. Temperatures will be in the mid 80’s. Cumulus cloud cover is expected in the afternoon along with a chance of thunderstorms. In the coming days, conditions will stay hot and dry, and fuels remain receptive to burning.   

Closures: San Juan National Forest has a closure order in effect: https://bit.ly/ChrisMountainFireClosure  

Evacuations: Archuleta County has issued mandatory evacuations for Forest Road 628, effective June 28th, 2023. Visit Archuleta County Emergency Operations website for more information. You may also find evacuation information on their Facebook page or call the Chris Mountain Evacuees Call Center: at 970-264-8373.   

Temporary Flight Restrictions: A TFR is in place. TFR link: tfr.faa.gov/save_pages/detail_3_9743.html 

Fire Information Phoneline: (970) 549-8799 Hours: 8:00 am - 8:00 pm 

Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100094353994683   Email: 2023.chrismountain@firenet.gov 

InciWeb: inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident-information/cosjf-chris-mountain-fire 

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