Press Release from Little Sand Fire Public Information Officer: June 1 at 10:30 a.m.
News Release
June 1, 2012 7:00 a.m. (MST)
Contact: Laura McConnell, PIO
Email: theLittleSandFire@Gmail.com
Phone: 970.444.2201 Staffed from 8am – 9pm
24 Hour - Recorded Message: 970.264.4731
*** PUBLIC MEETING SCHEDULED
***
Saturday, June 2nd beginning 2:30 p.m. at Sportsman’s
Campground
Morning Update – Friday, June 1, 2012
Pagosa Springs, CO– Fire was less active yesterday. There
was little growth on the northwest side with some growth on the southwest corner
towards Sand Creek. Crews successfully reached 6% containment on the south end
of the fire.
Conditions today are expected to be similar. The potential for
thunderstorms in the area may cause shifting winds which could affect fire
behavior, however today’s plan incorporates any possible scenarios that may
arise.
Plans for today:
Div A - (upper northeast)
San Juan hotshot crews, who arrived yesterday, will be flying
the Trail Creek drainage to assess opportunities for keeping the fire out of
Trail Creek. Crew will continue to work on, and hold the spot east of Trail
Creek.
Div B – (southwest side)
Crews will monitor fire backing down drainage, keeping fire out
of Trail Creek.
Div Y – (upper northwest)
Crews will continue to hold the fire by the Piedra River and
Sand Creek, and monitor the northwest corner by air.
Structure group
An expanded closure order was put in place as of yesterday
afternoon. Updated closures of roads, trails and campgrounds can be found at:
continues to mitigate around structures
in Weminuche Valley, but will be working more in the Sportsman’s Campground
area.
http://tinyurl.com/LittleSandClosures
Donations for firefighters:
Firefighters are national resources that require specific
training and nutrition to sustain the hard work they complete on a daily basis.
As a highly trained resource, the demands of their job require that they
maintain good nutritional values. On incidents, Food Unit Leaders work with
caterers to ensure that food needs are met. Although we appreciate the
outpouring of support from our communities, food donations to an incident can
become difficult to manage and provide food that does not meet the nutritional
needs of our fire crews. Firefighters most appreciate the "thank you" signs that
they pass on the way to work, and the thank you cards that we can post and put
in their lunches.
"Crews are making great progress on the line" as stated by
Incident Commander Todd Pechota. "We appreciate the patience of cooperating
agencies and the affected communities".
Fire Stats at a glance:
Start Date
: May 13th, 2012
Cause
: Lightning
Acreage
: 4,280
Personnel
: 237
Crews
: 6
Cooperating Agencies
: Hinsdale County, Archuleta County,
USFS, CSFS
Aviation: (
1)-Type 1 Helicopter, (1)-Type 3
Helicopter, Air Attack; A Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) remains.
Engines
: 5
Injuries
: 1
Structures destroyed
: 0
Structures threatened
: 20 including outbuildings
Cost to date: $1,250,000
