Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Stonyford 9am July 10 Fire Update - Big Impacts to OHV



Photo (July 10 at 7 am) above: Looking South from main road at Fouts Springs Camp Area
Photo July 10 at 7am) below: SST at Nail Track




After talking with HQ’s Jeff Applegate this morning, it appears we have some better information regarding the extent of impact to the District's OHV program.  The public briefing last night was pretty good, but it was short on details. Today, it looks like the destruction is more widespread including the loss of Old Mill Campground and some damages to  Nail Track.  OHV routes that sustained impacts from the fire so far includes:  20, 22, 27, 28, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 43 & 48.  It appears there will be even more damage as the plan is to maybe use Big Sullivan and Crackerbox as a fire line. The good news is the fire activity is low so far this morning. 

HQ is glad to report that the Taz Harvey Ranch survived so far.  We have not heard about Phil Ray’s Ranch but we expect it did OK too.  According to Taz, the Stonyford Rodeo Grounds (staging area for the Sheet Iron 300 Dual Sport Ride) is full of firefighters and equipment.  They are prepared to finish this fire off and do mop up operations over the next week or two.

This is a huge blow to the recreation community as this unit is a premier destination OHV area that sees visitors from throughout the U.S and Canada and is an important element in the state-wide OHV recreation matrix.

PS - Just got a note from Andrew Fulks at the Goat Mountain Ranch and the fire is now marching towards his property and is 3.5 miles away.

Will have an update later today as info comes in.
 

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