Fishhook Fire Reaches 89 Percent Containment Amid Monsoon Rains

Glenwood Springs —The Fishhook Fire is nearly done. It has reached 89% containment as of Thursday morning. That is a sharp jump from the 58% mark reported just twenty-four hours earlier. The fire burned 309 acres. It did not spread much further.

Incident Commander Caleb Finch called the progress "significant." He noted that crews established containment across all divisions. The key factor was weather. Monsoonal moisture moved in late Wednesday, delivering over 0.25 inches of rain. More precipitation is expected today. Scattered thunderstorms and localized heavy downpours will add to the wetting effect.

This weather allowed the Southwest Area Incident Management Team 1 to declare victory early. Command transfers back to the local U.S. Forest Service unit at 6 a.m. on Saturday. The handoff signals that the heavy lifting is complete.

Personnel numbers reflect this shift. Thirty-seven fewer firefighters are on site than there were Wednesday. The count stands at 307. That is down from 493 assigned personnel on Wednesday. The team still has three crews, nine engines, three helicopters, and one dozer. They are not packing up yet. They are patrolling. They are mopping up interior hotspots.

An unmanned aircraft system helped pinpoint those heat sources on Wednesday. In the fully contained eastern and western sections, crews are already backhauling hose and pumps. Equipment is moving out. The work remains on the north and south edges, where lingering heat persists.

Motorists should expect fire traffic on U.S. Highway 40. The road remains open. No closures are anticipated, but caution is required. Temporary flight restrictions stay in place above the fire. The forest closure implemented on Wednesday, July 15, remains active. The boundary is defined by the Routt and Grand County border along Highway 40, the national forest line to the west, and Forest Service trail 1101 to the north.

The cause of the fire remains undetermined. It was reported at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 12. Emergency management officials note the Routt National Forest is in Stage 1 Fire Restrictions. That status does not change with containment levels.

Finch wrote that warm and dry conditions will return this weekend. Temperatures will stay cooler than last week, however. The short version: the rain helped, and the crews did the work.

The real test for locals is whether that 11% uncontained area holds up once the rain stops and the wind picks back up. The Forest Service takes command Saturday. They do not have the large incident team anymore. They have to manage those north and south edges with fewer boots on the ground.

Read that again. The fire is 89% contained, but it is not 100% out. The weather will hold for today. It gets warm and dry this weekend. If those remaining hotspots catch a breeze, the percentage drops. The Forest Service knows this. They are not rushing the handoff.

The Fishhook Fire is a local problem now. It sits in the Routt and Grand County border area. It affects Highway 40 commuters. It affects the Stagecoach neighborhood, where Skycranes dropped water on flames last Monday. The 307 personnel remaining are focused on securing the perimeter. They are avoiding packing up. They are cleaning up.

The question is whether the 11% uncontained area will stay contained once the local unit takes over. The Forest Service has the resources. They have the restrictions in place. They just need to maintain them. The rain helped, but it won't last forever.