The Lefthand Canyon Fire grew Monday to 385 acres after reaching 320 acres overnight. Crews also reached 4% containment, according to a regional incident management team that took over command of the fire this morning.
The evacuation areas for the fire haven’t changed, while Bald Mountain scenic area was closed this morning because of the fire. A damage assessment team also wasn’t able to access the burn area to see if any homes were lost because the fire was too active, according to Boulder County Sheriff’s Office Division Chief Mike Wagner.
The regional management team provided a video update Monday afternoon on the firefighting efforts, noting 24 loads of fire retardant — about $1 million worth — were dropped on the fire Sunday.
Brant Porter, spokesman for the regional management team, said earlier Monday aerial crews were used “heavily” on the fire on Sunday to assist firefighters on the the ground, which was above the heavy fog that prevented the same aerial help at the nearby Calwood Fire.
Today’s plan is to continue to construct fire containment lines with the help of aircraft when possible, as well as to work to minimize fire spread and patrol for spot fires as fire activity increases through the day, according to the regional incident management team.
The fire, which was reported by a neighbor shortly after 1 p.m. Sunday, prompted evacuations for Ward, Sunshine Canyon and Gold Hill, but aerial firefighting efforts were able to help stop its spread Sunday afternoon.
Altogether, at least 145 homes have been evacuated, according to the Boulder Office of Emergency Management. Evacuation orders can be found at evacuation orders, which can be found at bouldercounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=13ab214fe2bb4da5a850df0ca0f00fc5.
Jamestown, which was under voluntary evacuation for the Calwood Fire, is now also under voluntary evacuation for this fire.
Crews initially estimated the Lefthand Canyon Fire at five acres. By about 7 p.m. Sunday, Boulder County sheriff’s Division Chief Mike Wagner said the fire was estimated to be 312 acres in size.
However, a difference in weather conditions between the two burn areas allowed aerial units that could not operate on the Calwood Fire to divert to the Lefthand Fire, which Wagner said was a large factor in crews being able to keep the fire north of Lefthand Canyon.
At this time, no cause is known and Wagner said it is not known if any structures were lost.
An evacuation point has been set up at Nederland Community Center, 750 Peak to Peak Highway. Large animals can be taken to the Gilpin County Fairgrounds, 230 Norton Drive in Blackhawk. Five horses that had been evacuated from the Lefthand Canyon Fire were sheltering there, said spokesperson Cherokee Blake.
