Red, White & Blue Fire Responds to Wildfire

Wednesday, July 22, 2009 - Breckenridge, CO

At approximately 11:00 this morning, Red, White & Blue Fire District was called to a wildland fire on Mt. Quandary in Blue River.

When firefighters arrived to County Road 851, they observed light smoke approximately ¼ mile off of the road. Red, White and Blue firefighters, along with U.S. Forest Service firefighters, hiked in with portable water and tools to assess the fire and start extinguishing the flames.

Firefighters hiked up steep terrain of heavy blown down trees and beetle kill area to access the fire, which was approximately 6000 square feet, with tree torching and a ground fire with three foot flame lengths.

The fire was called in by a hiker, who stated he witnessed lightning in the area and called 9-1-1. “With early access to 9-1-1, as well as a quick response by emergency personnel, crews were able to contain this fire before it spread,” stated Battalion Chief Paul Kuhn. “Luckily, no structures or people were in the area at the time,” he added. The cause of the fire is undetermined.

Red, White & Blue responded with nine personnel and worked in conjunction with the USFS teams to extinguish the fire.

“This is a good reminder to the public that we are in wildfire season, and fires do happen at 11,000 feet,” said Captain Kim Scott, PIO. “People should be taking precautions to keep their homes and family safe from the threat of wildfire,” she said.

Crews are still on scene to make sure the fire is completely out. Dense vegetation was cut and removed to limit the fuel around the fireline which was dug to contain the fire. Safety precautions were put in place, with personnel placed above the fire as well as some who were monitoring the weather.

All Red, White & Blue personnel are certified as wildland firefighters and respond routinely to wildfires in the County.

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Press Contact:
Capt. Kim Scott, PIO
cell: 970.485.4374
email: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

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