Cottonwood Creek Fire Daily Update

3/13/2025

10:00pm

Size: 633 acres

Containment: 95%

Date Started: 3/12/2025

Cause: Equipment use, skid steer mounted saw

Fire activity remained low throughout the day. Heavy equipment worked on improving and rehabing containment lines. Engines patrolled and addressed areas of concerns. The Air Attack platform aircraft flew over the fire several times and guided the engines to remaining hotspots. 

The fire has shown no growth over the last operational period and has been turned over to the local departments for the evening. The fire will likely remain at 95% containment through Saturday due to the wind event forecast for Friday.

Low humidity and gusty winds will continue tomorrow and for the foreseeable future. Please exercise caution with any outdoor activities that may cause heat or a spark.

Barring any unforseen changes, this will be the last update.

Structures: No structures currently threatened; No structures lost

Evacuations and closures: No evacuations or closures are currently in place. Please avoid the area to allow responders to work safely.

Damages and Injuries: There have been no reports of structure loss, injuries, or equipment damage. 

Cottonwood Creek Fire Daily Update

3/13/2025

1:30pm

Size: 633 acres

Containment: 80%

Date Started: 3/12/2025

Cause: Equipment use, skid steer mounted saw

Last night at 9:30pm bull dozers made it completely around the fire and forward progression was stopped. Crews worked on strengthening the containment lines with engines and dozers. Local departments staffed the fire overnight. 

This morning fire activity was low and no additional acreage was burned. Due to better mapping in the daylight, the total acreage was updated to 633 acres burned. Personnel have continued to mop-up the perimeter and put out any hot spots. An Air Attack platform plane was requested for a fly over at 10:00am, there were no concerns from above. Another flight is planned for 2:00pm to further assess the fire. Fire activity stayed minimal throughout the morning, allowing crews to continue to patrol and address any hotspots on the perimeter. 

Low humidity and gusty winds will continue tomorrow and for the foreseeable future. Please exercise caution with any outdoor activities that may cause heat or a spark.

Structures: No structures currently threatened; No structures lost

Evacuations and closures: No evacuations or closures are currently in place. Please avoid the area to allow responders to work safely.

Damages and Injuries: There have been no reports of structure loss, injuries, or equipment damage. 

Cottonwood Creek Fire Daily Update

3/12/2025

11:30pm

Size: 600 acres

Containment: 70%

Date Started: 3/12/2025

Cause: Equipment use

Texas A&M Forest Service responded to a request for assistance in San Saba County near Richland Springs. The fire started in a pecan orchard and was reportedly caused by equipment use. Strong winds carried the fire quickly through freeze cured grasses and dry brush. 

Upon arrival a unified command was established between Texas A&M Forest Service and local departments. The need for aircraft was quickly identified due to heavy brush and fast moving fire. Heavy equipment began establishing containment line while aircraft made water and retardant drops at the head of the fire. Engines engaged in structure protection and strengthening fire lines created by heavy equipment.  

At 9:30pm bull dozers made it completely around the forward progression was stopped. Work will continue into the night to strengthen containment lines, taking advantage of the decreased fire activity. An Air Attack platform aircraft will be over the fire at 10:00am to give the incident commander a better idea of the extent of the fire. 

Low humidity and gusty winds will continue tomorrow and for the foreseeable future. Please exercise caution with any outdoor activities that may cause heat or a spark.

Structures: No structures currently threatened; No structures lost

Evacuations and closures: No evacuations or closures are currently in place. Please avoid the area to allow responders to work safely

Damages and Injuries: There have been no reports of structure loss, injuries, or equipment damage. 

The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest may implement prescribed fire projects this spring, as weather and fuels conditions allow. Prescribed fire and pile burning activities are highly weather dependent, relying on close coordination with the National Weather Service and air quality specialists to determine the best possible weather conditions to promote smoke dispersal and limit smoke impacts. 

Why use prescribed fires? Prescribed fires help reduce surface fuels, increasing landscape wildfire resilience and reducing the risk of uncharacteristic wildfire effects on the landscape. In addition, they improve and maintain forest health and wildlife habitat and eliminate invasive species. The forest ecosystems in the Northern Rockies have evolved with fire, with many of them relying on periodic fires to establish and maintain forest health.  “The intent behind cool season prescribed fires is to reintroduce fire as a natural disturbance agent on the landscape under conditions that are more achievable for natural resource objectives,” said prescribed fire burn boss and Fuels Program Manager for the Forest, Greg Schenk.

Benefits of prescribed burning as a forest management tool:

• Protects communities and infrastructure by reducing hazardous fuels and the risk of future high-intensity wildfires.
• Improves and supports wildlife habitat for many species on the Forest.
• Limits the spread of invasive plant species and maintains native ecosystems.
• Promotes the growth of trees, plants, and wildflowers.
• Continues the historic, natural fire regime of periodic disturbance by fire. 

How do we plan? Prescribed fires are planned for various units across the Forest; however, the window of opportunity for prescribed burning is affected by several factors. Safety factors, weather conditions, air quality, personnel availability, and environmental regulations are continually monitored before implementation to determine feasibility of moving forward with the prescribed fire operations, during implementation, and after completion of the unit(s). 

Prescribed fires are carefully planned and conducted in accordance with a written burn plan. Prior to implementation, Forest fire managers coordinate with local cooperators, county officials, and interagency partners. When prescription criteria are met, firefighters implement, monitor, and patrol each burn to ensure it meets forest health and public safety objectives.

Depending on the fuels and weather conditions, the prescribed fire units could be burned as early as mid-April.

Public notifications: Prior to initiating the prescribed fire or pile burning operations, fire professionals assess conditions, conduct a test burn, and notify local governments and interested publics via website postings, email, social media, and news releases. Implementation and accomplishment updates will also be posted to the Forest website, the Prescribed Fires Inciweb page, and the Forest’s Wildland Fire Information Facebook page.

Smoke: Implementation of prescribed fire activities is coordinated with the National Weather Service and air quality specialists to determine the best possible weather conditions to promote smoke dispersal and limit smoke impacts. Smoke may be visible from adjacent communities and roadways. Smoke tends to pool in lower elevations and along roadways during the evenings and early morning hours, so motorists should take note during those times.

Safety and monitoring: Trained fire professionals who have studied fire behavior and fire control techniques conduct prescribed fires in such a way to ensure the safety of the fire crew, nearby residents, and property. Schenk added, “The safety of our firefighters and the public is always our number one priority. We only conduct the prescribed fire operations if conditions allow – conditions must be just right on the ground, as identified in the corresponding plans.” 

For more information about these projects, please visit the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest website or our Prescribed Fire page on Inciweb and follow us on our Wildland Fire Information Facebook for updates. Contact the B-D Forest Fire PIO, Terina Hill, at (406) 683-3920, or the B-D Fuels Program Manager, Greg Schenk, at (406) 683-3870, for additional information.

This week Grindstone District firefighters are continuing to burn piles in the Letts Lake basin, pending favorable weather conditions. Firefighters will attempt ignitions on 65 acres today. 

On the Upper Lake District firefighters were unsuccessful yesterday burning in the Bartlett Springs area due to high winds. That prescribed burn has been postponed until next week when conditions look more favorable.

All prescribed fire operations are carefully monitored, and firefighters will conduct patrols following burning operations. 

More information about Mendocino National Forest’s prescribed fire operations is available online.

**Postponed due to weather and fuel conditions**

Superior Ranger District: Firefighters will burn piles (one acre)  at the Slowey Campground located 6.5 miles north west of Superior.  Smoke may be visible from Interstate 90. 

Prescribed fire is implemented in compliance with Montana air quality standards and coordinated with the Montana Department of Environmental Quality and the appropriate county health departments to minimize the impacts of smoke.

The prescribed fire operations planned for today will not be taking place in Rocky Mountain National Park due to forecasted high winds. At 6 a.m., fire managers took onsite observations, and the wind speeds measured exceeded our prescription for the burn. Burn operations only occur when weather and conditions allow. Fire managers carefully observe conditions in the days preceding and the morning of any planned burn operation. 

Prescribed fire is the planned ignition of a fire by firefighters within a predetermined set of conditions intended to achieve desired effects on a landscape. Prescribed fire is one of the most important tools used by land managers to achieve specific results on a landscape, including the reduction of fuels that could sustain an unwanted wildfire.

A range of conditions, or prescription, for each fire determines the precise environmental conditions under which it will burn to achieve specific objectives. If conditions vary outside of that prescription, ignitions may be stopped.

The primary goal of the Headquarters Unit of RMNP's Front Country Prescribed Burn is to reduce the threat of wildland fire to adjacent communities and to NPS infrastructure by reducing the amount of fuels available on the landscape.

Welder Complex Update

Sunday, March 9, 2025

Size: 840 total acres; Welder Fire - 70 acres, Railway Fire 770 acres

Containment: 100%

Start Date: March 4, 2025

Cause: Texas A&M Forest Service Law Enforcement investigators determined the Welder Fire to be caused by Powerlines and the Railway Fire caused by a roadside start. 

The Welder Complex started on March 4th, 2025 with two separate fires, the Welder fire and the Railway Fire. These fires both began to grow quickly and were initially responded to by local fire departments. Texas A&M Forest Service was requested to provide additional assistance and brought additional fire engines, heavy equipment, and fire fighters to assist with suppressing these fires.

Yesterday: Firefighters completed containment lines yesterday and continued to patrol and mop up the perimeter of these fires. Engines worked around the edges of these fires looking for any areas of heat and extinguished those heats to remove any threats to the containment lines. The fire perimeters were also mapped more accurately and acreages updated. Full containment for the Welder Complex at end of shift yesterday.

State resources have been released and, pending any significant change in fire activity, this incident will no longer be updated.

Rocky Mountain National Park News Release

March 8, 2025
For Immediate Release
Kyle Patterson 970-586-1363

Rocky Mountain National Park Announces Plans for Prescribed Burn on Monday, March 10, 2025 If Conditions Allow  

Based upon the potential for favorable weather and fuels conditions, fire managers at Rocky Mountain National Park are planning to conduct a prescribed burn beginning on Monday, March 10, 2025. Firefighters plan to burn approximately 50 acres of the 334-acre Headquarters Unit. This burn unit is located inside Rocky Mountain National Park, west of the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center and south of U.S. Highway 36. Because of the fuel type that will be burned, which include mainly grasses, heavy and prolonged smoke is not expected from this operation.  

The primary goal of the project is to reduce the threat of wildland fire to adjacent communities and NPS infrastructure by using prescribed fire to reduce the amount of fuels available in this area. When fighting the East Troublesome Fire in 2020 and the Fern Lake Fire in 2012, firefighters were able to take advantage of previous and existing prescribed fire and hazardous fuels treatment areas that provided a buffer between the fires and the town of Estes Park. Prior hazard fuels projects were instrumental in stopping both fires from crossing Bear Lake and Trail Ridge Roads.  

If conditions are favorable, ignitions are planned to occur on Monday, March 10. Firefighters will be on scene for the duration of the operation and will be patrolling the burned area. Smoke from the prescribed burn will be visible throughout the day of the burn, mostly during the warmest part of the day. With cooler temperatures in the evening, smoke may linger and accumulate in low-lying areas.  

Fire operations near the Beaver Meadows Entrance to RMNP may cause brief delays or temporary road closures. Traffic may be diverted through Fall River Entrance. Motorists should watch for fire vehicles on the roads and allow extra time for entering and exiting the park. Traffic control will be in place on U.S. Highway 36 within the burn area. Additional information will be shared on InciWeb at https://inciweb.wildfire.gov/incident-information/cormp-front-country-prescribed-fire and on RMNP’s official social media channels.  
 
For the safety of visitors and firefighters, park visitors will not be allowed to stop along U.S. Highway 36 within the burn area. Visitors will also not be able to walk within the burn area.  
 
Smoke may be visible both inside and outside the park. Every effort will be made to minimize smoke impacts on visitors and the adjacent community; however, some smoke is anticipated to disperse east of the park. Smoke may affect your health: For more information see https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/cdphe/wood-smoke-and-health.  
 
Safety factors, weather conditions, air quality, personnel availability and environmental regulations are continually monitored as part of any fire management operation. For more information please contact the park Information Office at (970) 586-1206.  

- NPS -