The size of the Cow Creek Fire in the northern part of Rocky Mountain National Park has been downgraded to 888 acres due to better mapping, fire officials said today.
The fire, which is burning in heavy timber between 9,700 and 10,000 feet near Mount Dickinson, was originally estimated at 1,500 acres.
Laura McConnell, spokeswoman for the Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team B, said that the fire continues to burn and that fire crews have focused their efforts on the eastern flank of the fire to minimize the threat to life and property.
Because the fire is in a remote part of the popular national park, the park is open along with most of the trails in the park.
However, the Cow Creek Trail and the North Boundary Trail are closed along with the McGraw Ranch Road.
McConnell said that fire crews have established additional bases in the remote wilderness to support firefighting efforts. Firefighters have also been stationed in Glen Haven, the nearest village to the fire, to help protect businesses and residences in the Glen Haven region.
“Although we are operating in tough country, the crews have done an excellent job with lots of production that has been effective,” said Todd Pechota, the incident commander. “Their work will minimize the disruption of activities within Rocky Mountain National Park and surrounding communities.”Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
