\n <\/p>\n
After 13 days of wondering when good news for evacuees would come from the 416 Fire that started June 1, it came Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Evacuation orders were lifted in the afternoon for 560 residences and 20 businesses in the Rockwood, Tamarron and Glacier Club areas.<\/p>\n
And on Thursday, 375 residences and 19 businesses were taken off the evacuation list.<\/p>\n
Joe and Lola Hardman returned to their Rockwood Estates home Wednesday after being evacuated June 1. The Hardmans shared several small hotel rooms for several days with their visiting daughters, Sasha, 21, and Nadia, 19, and their two Labrador retrievers, Pippa and Taz, before renting a home in Vallecito.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were just happy to get back. We were tired of living out of suitcases. You can imagine four people and two large Labs in small hotel rooms,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Residents who live on the west side of U.S. Highway 550 from mile marker 33.5 at Honeyville north to the Glacier Club entrance at mile marker 39.5 were allowed to return. Homes and businesses on the east side of Highway 550 to the Animas River from Mead\/Albrecht Lane north to Rockwood also were reopened.<\/p>\n
To go home, residents must show their RapidTag credentials, which were available at various locations.<\/p>\n
The residences and businesses will remain under pre-evacuation orders, and residents will be subject to the limited opening hours of Highway 550, which was to close at 8 p.m. Thursday.<\/p>\n
The highway was scheduled to be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday, with law enforcement escort.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement escorts for through traffic on Highway 550 will continue during the re-entry period.<\/p>\n
The 416 Fire grew to 29,147 acres as of Thursday morning. It remained 15 percent contained.<\/p>\n
The fire had its first chance at precipitation on Thursday, though fire officials were doubtful the rains would have much of an impact on the 14-day-old fire.<\/p>\n
Weather forecasters called for a 20 percent chance of rain, though they gave only a 5 percent chance for a \u201cwetting rain,\u201d said spokeswoman Jamie Knight.<\/p>\n
Fire officials were more concerned that thunderstorms could produce dry lightning and bring gusty winds of 40 mph.<\/p>\n
A red flag warning was in effect Thursday, meaning conditions would be hot, dry and windy. Weather forecasters issued a flash-flood watch from 9 a.m. Saturday until 12:01 a.m. Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s likely there\u2019s a little bit of moisture associated with those storms, but it\u2019s going to be primarily dry,\u201d Knight said. \u201cWith the storms comes the lightning and those gusty winds. We\u2019re definitely asking the firefighters to keep their eyes open and their heads up and pay attention to any changes in the weather.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fire officials on Thursday monitored storm activity to see how it would affect planned back-burns. After heavy burnout activity on Monday and Tuesday that produced visible plumes, back-burns weren\u2019t done on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are waiting to see how the weather progresses to determine if this is the day and the time to do those back-burns,\u201d Knight said. \u201cWe want to make sure that what we do aligns well with all of the insets and parameters that we\u2019re receiving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Crews continued to work along the southwest side of the fire near County Road 205, where the fire is most active. Fire officials praised the mitigation work done by residents beforehand that has helped firefighters defend homes along the fire\u2019s path.<\/p>\n
The fire also continues to spread north, though at a much slower rate than it has on the south side, Knight said. Officials have prepared fire lines in advance of Purgatory and residences in that area in case the fire continue to spread in that direction.<\/p>\n
As the east side of U.S. Highway 550 becomes more secure, fire officials are pulling firefighters from the area to help on other parts of the fire. Crews will continue to patrol the corridor for hot spots and to watch for spot fires.<\/p>\n
As the eastern portion of the fire has calmed, the fire has become more active in other areas. A pre-evacuation order was issued Wednesday evening for 207 residences and two businesses on the south end of the fire.<\/p>\n
Fire officials said Wednesday they believe the 416 Fire won\u2019t be contained until the end of July. They don\u2019t expect residents to be out of their homes that long, but they also weren\u2019t able to give an estimate on when people might be able to return home.<\/p>\n
Over 1,000 fire personnel are battling the fire. Many firefighters have been working the fire for two weeks, meaning they\u2019re about to time out and be given a break. Incident Commander Todd Pechota said he plans to bring in more crews to replace outgoing firefighters.<\/p>\n
Highway 550 is open with limited access from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. today, dependent on weather conditions.<\/p>\n
Gov. John Hickenlooper, Sens. Michael Bennet and Cory Gardner, and Rep. Scott Tipton will visit the Durango area Friday. They will visit with fire officials and meet with city and county officials.<\/p>\n
The cost of fighting both the Burro and 416 fires was put at $10.9 million.<\/p>\n
Evacuation and shelter centers \u2018Happy to get back. We were tired of living out of suitcases\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":99196,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5736,5735],"tags":[2838,13,4259,84],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-99195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local-news","category-news","tag-416-fire","tag-frontpage-lead","tag-newsletter-sign-up","tag-wildfire"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=99195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/99195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/99196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=99195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=99195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=99195"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=99195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n Escalante Middle School, 141 Baker Lane in Durango. Open 24 hours a day.
\n Silverton Town Hall, 1360 Greene St., in Silverton. Open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily.
\n Those affected by evacuations must check in at an evacuation site to receive resident credentials. This is crucial for preparedness, identifying and securing resources for evacuees, and for return access when fire conditions become safe.
\n Community resources
\n La Plata County government hotline for residents evacuating: (970) 385-8700.
\n Livestock can be evacuated to La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.
\n Four Corners Back Country Horsemen will assist with horse and livestock evacuations, call (570) 228-1340.
\n The Browning Ranch in Farmington volunteered to host horses during evacuations. Call Chris Maedche (505) 681-3595.
\n Small animals can be evacuated to La Plata County Humane Society, 111 South Camino del Rio.
\n Tips for pre-evacuation
\n For people who received a pre-evacuation notice, these steps can improve their safety and expedite departure should an evacuation become necessary.
\n Inside the house
\n Gather medications.
\n Pack a bag with clothing and essentials.
\n Shut off air conditioning and fans.
\n Shut all windows and doors before leaving.
\n If you have time, gather paperwork and photographs that cannot be replaced.
\n Outside the house
\n Gather flammable items and bring them inside (patio furniture, children\u2019s toys, door mats, trash cans, etc.).
\n Move propane barbecue appliances away from structures.
\n Connect garden hoses to outside water valves or spigots for use by firefighters.
\n Fill water buckets and place them around the house.
\n Don\u2019t leave sprinklers or water running; this can affect critical water pressure.
\n Leave exterior lights on so your home is visible to firefighters in the smoke or darkness of night.
\n Back your car into the driveway with vehicle loaded and all doors and windows closed. Carry your car keys with you.
\n Animals
\n Locate your pets and keep them nearby.
\n Prepare livestock for transport and plan to move them to a safe location early.
\n Pack food and medications for your pets.
\n Insurance
\n Take pictures of the interior of your house to remember and document personal possessions.
\n Determine what is sentimental and can\u2019t be replaced.
\n Donations
\n Community Foundation Serving Southwest Colorado is accepting monetary donations for Community Emergency Relief Fund. This fund is set up for broad-based community emergencies in Southwest Colorado. The Advisory Committee is working with government agencies and local businesses to develop a strategy for distributing the money raised. Efforts will support local people and efforts related to 416 Fire. To donate to CERF, send a check to The Community Foundation, P.O. Box 1673, Durango, CO 81302 or donate online at
\n www.swcommunityfoundation.org<\/a>
\n .
\n Donations of clothing and household items accepted at Discover Goodwill of Durango, 1230 Escalante Drive.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"