Deer Creek Fire at 15,819 acres and 11-percent containment as mild weather aids efforts

The Deer Creek Fire in old La Sal is now at 15,819 acres burned but has seen containment rise to 11-percent.
Containment on the west side is aiding in work between fire managers and local officials on their goal of returning residents to their homes as soon as it's safe.
Residents in some areas began reentry Thursday and Friday, a sign of progress on the fire. 
Cloud cover and cooler temperatures aided firefighters Thursday allowing good progress along the north and east sides of the Deer Creek Fire. 
Public Information Officer with the Great Basin Team 4 Jesse Bender explained they are gaining ground on the fire.
“We expected a lot stronger winds over the fire area both on Wednesday and Thursday (...) So those diminished winds, the lower temperatures, a little bit higher humidity with the cloud cover coming in have really helped out our firefighters and given us a chance to work directly along the fire perimeter instead of needing to work a little more indirectly out along roads and ridges.”
Firefighters are staged out of four spike camps reducing travel time to more remote areas of the fire and facilitating easier access to meals and rest. 
Resources continue to be positioned on the west end of Paradox where structure protection assessments are being made and the construction of a contingency dozer line.
Bender explains they’ve made good progress after seeing some rapid spread on Wednesday with the fire moving a mile an hour.
“It covered a lot of ground in a really quick amount of time and burned about 2,000 acres that evening, but since then, we've made really good progress. One thing that's helped us is the terrain. The fire burned up to the edge of a mesa where it got rockier, less continuous vegetation to burn through. That alone was an advantage for us and then right after those winds came through, the temperatures dropped a little bit, the humidities came up a little bit, and that also helped with that fire spread. So, it's certainly not contained on that end of the fire, but we're feeling a lot more confident about where the fire is right now and our ability to work along that perimeter and reduce that threat to the communities.”
Firefighters conducted firing operations east of Peaceful Valley Ranch, burning vegetation between dozer lines and the edge of the active fire. This strategy helps fire managers guide the fire’s movement under more controlled and predictable conditions, strengthening containment efforts. 
Helicopters have been in use along the active north and east sides of the fire. To reduce the risk to firefighters, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are being used to patrol the fire in areas where the terrain is inaccessible. 
Since the Deer Creek Fire started, aviation resources have dropped 300,000 gallons of retardant on the surrounding area, focusing on private property and critical infrastructure like the Highway 46 / 90 corridor. 
The damage assessment of primary structures within the current fire perimeter is complete and 11 private structures, a Forest Service guard station, and a communication site were damaged or destroyed in the early days of the Deer Creek Fire. Additional damage assessments are ongoing. Numbers are preliminary and further assessments are being completed by San Juan County.
San Juan County has implemented an evacuation zone map for the fire with nine areas, divided into ready, set and go phases to prepare residents for potential evacuations. 
According to the last update Thursday afternoon zones 1-4 are in go status
Zones 5 and 8 are in the set status with no checkpoint in place at this time.
Zone 6, Peaceful valley is on go status however Mountain Shadows and Hang Dog residents now have access and will be allowed to stay on the set status. A check point at Lower Two Mile and Highway 46 will remain in place to prevent non-residents from entering the area.
Zone 7 is in the ready stage.
Deer Creek’s incident meteorologist noted Friday and Saturday offer some of the first chances of wetting rain.
Bender explains while some wetting rain is good, some heavy rain could actually offer a challenge.
“It might be a simple little sprinkle or it might be a qaurter to a half of an inch. If it really sits over the fire area and drops a lot of rain in a short period of time, then we could definitely have some concerns for flooding, for erosion, especially out on the dirt roads where we've had a lot of traffic and it's very soft dust, especially through those intensely burned areas where there's not going to be a lot of vegetation to hold the soil down. We could see some localized flooding in those areas. (...) Hopefully, it's the right amount that really helps us with containment and doesn't make things messy and give us some new challenges out there.”
The cause of the fire which started the afternoon of July 10 is still under investigation, but Bender says they know the state and investigators are working hard to gather precise information on the start of the fire.
“Obviously, it's always hard on everybody when we have human ignitions and a lot of questions and then when they grow to a really large state like this and so there those investigators are doing a lot of good work to be sure they know exactly what happened and can follow up on it appropriately. So we too here in the incident management team are waiting to hear more from the state on exactly that cause and the nature and the outcome but at this point that investigation is on going. They were so quick with their initial attack of this. (...) but those winds were just super strong that day and under the drought conditions and a lot of really dry vegetation out there it was just a bad timing for that scenario.”
484 personnel are fighting the flames including six helicopters, 29 engines, five dozers and 11 crews.
Fire behavior has officials recommending those traveling on Highway 46 in Utah and Highway 90 in Colorado to check conditions before traveling. The public is also encouraged to turn on headlights and travel with caution through the area.
Bender says they know there’s interest in people viewing the efforts but asks the public to keep the area clear and to pay attention as you travel through the area.
“We just encourage folks to really pay attention if you're driving during those times. Maybe pull over in a safe place. case and take a look. But pay attention to your driving. Pay attention to the additional vehicle traffic that's on the roads for the potential to have smoke on the roadways and reduced visibility there as well.”
San Juan County has shared they’ve seen numerous requests from people ready to provide donations and aid.
The County shares they are not accepting direct donations at this time but are working with local leaders to identify specific needs and will share donation details as they become available.
Additionally, there have been offers of snacks for firefighters, but for safety reasons only store-bought pre-packaged items can be accepted.
Bender says they appreciate the support and encouragement.
“Firefighters have have the things they need. They're getting three square meals a day. Got a really good caterer here who's taking care of them. They've got water and Gatorade and all the basic medical supplies and the ability to support them at higher levels if they need it. We've got a lot of them sleeping in the Lasal area or at remote camps up closer to the fire and that's given them better sleep at night because they're up in some cooler temperatures too which is great. 
We so appreciate the offers to bring things to to directly support the firefighters and all of those folks out there and certainly encourage anyone who's looking for somewhere to donate. We know the local volunteer fire departments and others. We know they always have needs. We know that there are those individuals who are affected by this fire, who've been evacuated, who have lost their homes and really encourage the community to support the community and we know that they're doing that too because that's where we feel the greatest need is and we don't want to take resources that the community could definitely use.”
Donations of money can be given to the American Red Cross Broad Support for Utah Disaster Readiness and Response Efforts.
The Red Cross shares that while funding cannot be designated exclusively to a specific incident, all contributions will support disaster relief efforts in the region, including preparedness and response across county lines.
Those wishing to support the Red Cross’s disaster relief efforts can donate at RedCross.org/Give or by calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
San Juan County shared they will provide additional donation details as they become available.