Emergency Status
Oct 19

CalWood and Lefthand Canyon fire updates

A federal Type II Incident Management Team (Rocky Mountain Black) has taken over coordination of the CalWood and Lefthand Canyon fires as of 6 a.m. today, Monday, Oct. 19, 2020. The Boulder Office of Emergency Management (OEM) will continue to post information on all our platforms, including this BoulderOEM.com webpage, Twitter and Facebook. Local Boulder County emergency management staff are working closely with the federal team, and will coordinate local impacts to the community outside of the fire footprint, such as road closures, evacuations, sheltering options for people and animals, damage assessments, and fire investigation, etc. The federal team are managing firefighting operations, acreage and containment, etc.

Fire activity overnight was minimal and there was no measurable fire growth, and road closures and evacuation orders remain in place. The cause of both fires are under investigation. Containment of the CalWood Fire is 15%; containment of the Lefthand Canyon Fire is 4%.

Due to the weather on Sunday, aircraft use was limited through the day. Crews worked extensively constructing fire line close to the fire’s edge. Control lines were built between the fire and structures on the west and southwest sides of the fire.

Today, Monday, crews continue line construction to protect structures and gain further containment. Aircraft are being used to support these crews. Crews on the east side of the fire are mopping up and securing lines near Highway 36 and in areas where lines are complete.

Aircraft were able to work extensively on Sunday on the Lefthand Canyon Fire, as weather conditions allowed, and firefighters built containment lines yesterday and continue today. Crews are also working to minimize fire spread and patrol for spot fires.

For more information as to road closures, evacuation orders and warnings from the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office remain in place and are current on the public information map on BoulderOEM.com.