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Sylvan Fire updates: Reinforcements arrive as fire reaches Sylvan Lake

Pre-evacuation order issued for residents in Frost Creek, Salt Creek, and Bruce Creek

The Sylvan Fire burns southwest of Sylvan Lake State Park Monday near Eagle. The fire has grown to 2,630 acres and counting since igniting on Sunday afternoon.Chris Dillmann /cdillmann@vaildaily.com

8:30 update: The Sylvan Fire has reached the shores of Sylvan Lake.

According to David Boyd, White River National Forest public information officer, the fire moved quickly in the late afternoon Tuesday, driven by wind. As of about 6 p.m. the fire had grown more than 1,000 acres during the day to 3,359 acres, or just more than 5.2 square miles.

Reinforcements were dispatched Tuesday, with an additional 60 firefighters to bolster the 75 people already on the fire lines. Boyd said that additional personnel includes one Hotshot crew.



Eagle County Sheriff James van Beek said his office has secured hotel vouchers for the out-of-town fire crews.

The reinforcements include one more heavy helicopter to add to one heavy and one light helicopter already working the blaze. Boyd said fixed-wing aircraft, including a very large air tanker, a large air tanker, and single-engine air tankers dispatched from Rifle and Grand Junction were making retardant drops throughout the day.




That additional manpower means the Sylvan Fire has been upgraded to a Type 2 incident, meaning more resources can be brought to bear, and freeing up other resources for other fires on the 2 million-acre forest.

The fire reaching the lake means it has escaped the boundaries of the “box” in which officials had hoped to contain it.

Boyd said the fire jumped a fire line along a power line road, and Forest Road 400 above that.

The fire’s expansion means officials are looking at new strategies and tactics to fight the blaze, Boyd said.

A pre-evacuation order was issued earlier Tuesday for residents, businesses and others in the area of Sylvan Lake State Park. The area includes Frost Creek, Salt Creek, and Bruce Creek.

People in these areas may be asked to evacuate if the fire worsens.

Mandatory evacuation orders have been issued for the areas of Hat Creek, Yeoman State Park, and Fulford. If you are in these areas, you need to evacuate immediately.

If you have immediate needs for relocating livestock, call 970-379-7731.

Monitor ECEmergency.org for further information as well as local media and social media outlets for updates. Now is the time to prepare to leave and consider precautionary movement of those with special needs, mobile property and large animals.

Eagle Valley High School in Gypsum may be used as an evacuation center.

Hardscrabble Road is completely closed, van Beek told the Eagle Town Council at Tuesday’s meeting. Anyone in areas currently designated as evacuation or pre-evacuation areas can bring horses and other large livestock animals to the Eagle County Fairgrounds, he said.

In other remarks to the council, van Beek said fire had been moving steadily southeast before changing direction around 5 p.m. The fire then “took some unusual turns,” he said.

The terrain in which firefighters are working to control the blaze has some features that help create natural boundaries, including aspen groves and meadows to the west. There’s also a power line road on the northeast and east sides of the fire where firefighters can reinforce fire lines. There are steep, rocky fields elsewhere along the boundaries of the fire.

“We’re being as aggressive as we can,” Boyd said. But, he added, there’s currently a lot of fire activity in Colorado and neighboring states, so resources are somewhat limited.

“We don’t have everything we’d like to have here,” he said.

The Sylvan fire seen Monday from a commercial flight landing at the Eagle County Regional Airport.
Amy McLane/Special to the Daily

As firefighters travel to the area to help battle the Sylvan Fire, van Beek stressed it is vital to keep other traffic off roads including Crooked Creek Pass, Eagle-Thomasville Road and portions of Cottonwood Pass. Full closure information is available at ECEmergency.org.

“We are asking everyone who has no reason to be up there to stay out of the area,” van Beek said at the Monday briefing.

Firefighters have taken steps to protect structures at Sylvan Lake State Park. Other infrastructure at risk includes an Xcel Energy transmission cable.

The town of Eagle has posted information about fire-related trail closures at TownOfEagle.org/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=519.

The latest information, including a map of the closure when it is available, will be posted at inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7562.

The Sylvan Fire burns southwest of Sylvan Lake State Park Monday near Eagle.
Chris Dillmann/cdillmann@vaildaily.com