Wednesday morning, the Chaffee County Office of Emergency Management declared a local disaster emergency due to the danger to property and persons from the Decker Fire, as well as the continuing critical fire conditions of extremely dry conditions and high winds. Unless changed, the county is under emergency management conditions for the next seven days.
The Decker Fire surged overnight, Tuesday into Wednesday, topping Methodist Mountain and growing 1,500 acres, to 3,746 acres.
The county at this time is not accepting any donations for clothing or food, but monetary donations can be made to the Red Cross by calling Elizabeth Ritchie at 719-239-0938.
The Fairgrounds is being used as a Red Cross Shelter for those being evacuated from the fire as well as a protected area for large animals. Small animals can be taken to the Ark Valley Humane Society.
Offers of housing for those evacuated from the fire areas should be directed to Mandy Kaisner at Sol Vista Health at 719-395-9355.
The county notes these updates on the Decker Fire:
Facebook pages for Chaffee County Sheriff
Office of Emergency Management,
Incident Command website: https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6592/.
Photo: The Decker Fire advancing west across Methodist Mountain, with Heart of the Rockies Medical Center in the foreground. Photo by Jan Wondra.
Recent Comments