The Beaver Creek fire, which has been burning near Walden for almost a week, is now at 5,482 acres, with increased smoke visible to residents from wind and “burn out operations” on Saturday.
The fire grew slightly on Friday, up from 5,368 acres, but is still at 5 percent containment. Burn out operations were used to draw lines and secure structures on the southern part of the fire.
Temperatures were cooler Saturday with highs in the low 70s, but humidity also decreased allowing fire activity to increase “especially during wind shifts caused by afternoon thunderstorms,” according to a news release from the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Blue Team.
The fire is burning primarily in heavy timber with a high percentage of beetle-killed trees and in some areas of grass and sagebrush. It remains about 15 miles northwest of Walden and 2 miles south of Wyoming.
Saturday night’s temperatures will range between 38 and 43 degrees Fahrenheit, with light northwest winds at 5-10 mph gusting to 15 mph, and a predicted high of 78 on Sunday. Skies are expected to remain clear and an inversion may develop, trapping smoke in valleys and low-lying areas, according to the Incident Team. Flames moved from tree top to tree top on Saturday.
Resources assigned to the fire Saturday included 472 firefighters working on engines, bulldozers, water tenders, helicopters, airplanes and hand crews.
Firefighters have focused on structure defense, cooling down hot spots, addressing spot fires resulting from changing winds and building a fireline.
Forty residences or cabins are still being threatened by the fire.
The cause of the Beaver Creek fire remains under investigation. Authorities are asking anyone with information on suspicious activity last weekend in the Twisty Park area to contact U.S. Forest Service Officer Hannah Nadeau at 307-343-2335.
Staff writer John Wenzel contributed to this report.
