The 52-acre Bobcat Ridge Fire southwest of Fort Collins is 70 percent contained with full containment expected later this afternoon, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office said today.
The fire is about four miles west of Masonville, east of Spruce Mountain in mixture of national forest land, private land and the highly popular Bobcat Ridge Natural Area, owned by the city of Fort Collins.
Eloise Campanella, sheriff’s spokeswoman, said that 37 firefighters from Larimer County and Americorp are at the scene along with three engines.
After full containment, mop up operations will continue in the interior of the fire which has been burning what Campanella described as “heavy fuels.”
She said firefighters will remain on scene for the next few days.
Investigators believe the fire was human-caused but arson is not suspected.
The city of Fort Collins had recently closed trails in much of the area to protect a pair of golden eagles who are trying to nest in the Bobcat Ridge Natural Area.
The eagles have started building a nest on a hogback directly across the valley from the fire, said Rick Bachand, senior environmental planner with Fort Collins’ Natural Areas Program.
Bachand said it appears the eagles may also be establishing a second nest nearby. They have been removing some materials from the large nest they’ve built and flying with the material to another location.
Bachand said that given the fire, the eagles for the time being have probably “hunkered down” for their own protection.
“It’s a very rugged area. It is steep and hilly with canyon-like valleys,” said Bachand of the terrain in the fire area.
He said there are not that many trees. Instead, there large areas of rocks with grasses and shrubs between the rocky terrain.
Bachand noted that in June 2000, the Bobcat Gulch Fire in the region burned 24,000 acres.
Campanella said yesterday that the fire is burning in heavy fuels, dead trees and logs from the earlier Bobcat Gulch fire.
The fire was first reported about 11:40 a.m. Tuesday. Units fighting the fire Tuesday included Loveland Fire and Rescue, the Poudre Fire Authority, the Big Thompson Canyon Fire Protection District, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Emergency Services, the Berthoud Fire Protection District, and U.S. Forest Service personnel.
Smoke was visible and could be smelled in Loveland and Fort Collins. No homes have been evacuated or threatened because of the remote location of the fire.Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
