Gov. Jared Polis, joined by a half-dozen state officials and others, said he has activated the Colorado National Guard to assist with the East Troublesome fire that has affected Grand Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park and the town of Estes Park.

The town is now under a mix of voluntary and mandatory evacuation orders. A small portion of the fire, which burned 100,000 acres in less than 24 hours, jumped the Continental Divide on Thursday, according to Stan Hilkey, executive director of the Colorado Department of Public Safety. That’s what prompted the evacuation orders for Estes Park, he said.

About 6,500 homes are in the affected areas, although some are second homes and the state does not have a firm number on the number of people so far evacuated. 

Scott Jalbert, commander for the US Forest Service’s Rocky Mountain Area Command, said the fires continue to grow and threaten Estes Park. A weather system moving in Thursday afternoon will shift the winds from the northwest to the west, and that will continue to impact communities’ in the fire areas. There will be “critical fire behavior” during the next 24 to 36 hours, he said. 

Their main focus is to move resources from fires that are coming under control, like the CalWood wildfire in Boulder county, and to move those resources to both the East Troublesome and Cameron Peak wildfires.

As to the Cameron Peak fire, Jalbert said it continues to move north and south, driven by those winds, which could reach 25 to 30 mph on Thursday.

“We are focusing on life,” making sure people are evacuated out of those areas. “We do not have enough resources to completely envelope those fires. We are in a defensive mode, protecting what we can,” Jalbert said.

Mike Morgan, the division director for the Department of Public Safety’s fire prevention team, said fire investigators believe East Troublesome is likely human-caused but no final determination has been made yet. 

Incident meteorologists are embedded with the fire crews, according to Greg Hanson of the National Weather Service, Boulder. Overall, it will be a “tough go of it” for the afternoon and into the evening, with lots of wind and low humidity. He does expect a light dusting of snow Thursday night. While it will not provide a lot of moisture it will “wet things down a bit” and reduce some of the more extreme fire behavior. 

Hanson added that he’s optimistic that cooler winds will keep the fire out of Estes Park and stay in the higher elevations of Rocky Mountain National Park. But he advised people to heed the evacuation orders.

“It’s going to be close on the western edge of the city,” he said.

Saturday, however, is another matter. Very strong winds are expected that will push those fires around, Hanson said. After Saturday, the main precipitation event will be on Sunday, which could produce a foot of snow at higher elevations. This storm will not be a fire-season ender, he said, but it could allow firefighters to get the upper hand. Hanson said he doesn’t expect major snowfall events until November.

The state’s response has included the state patrol assisting local law enforcement with evacuations, especially Wednesday night as the East Troublesome fire grew, reportedly at 6,000 acres per hour at one point. Members of the Division of Fire Prevention and Control are also out fighting the fires, Hilkey said, and the state is also involved in helping with sheltering and recovery.

“It is a very robust effort,” Hilkey said. “We engage with whomever is involved” with the fires, depending on whether the fire is on state, federal or private land. 

Kevin Klein, director of the state’s Homeland Security Management, said their first priority is life and safety and supporting search and rescue operations, to ensure residents in the affected areas are accounted for. They’re also attempting to secure additional firefighters and fire engines. Klein said 278 hotel rooms have been obtained to house those evacuated, making sure those accommodations meet COVID-19 standards for social distancing.

Unfortunately, the Global Supertanker, based in Colorado Springs, is in use in California. “We have the ability but we don’t have the access” to it, said Morgan. Polis indicated it probably would not have helped, given how quickly the East Troublesome fire went from 10,000 to 100,000 acres. Hilkey added that they are using a heavy air tanker, and have been deploying it throughout the summer. 

Damage assessment will start as soon as possible, Klein said, but that will take time. They will be looking at the impact of the fires on watersheds and critical infrastructure. “Recovery operations will take time…but we’re committed to bringing communities back to the best of our ability,” he said.

“It’s humbling for humanity in the face of massive fires,” Polis added. The state’s interventions are designed to save lives and buildings, but in unpopulated areas, Mother Nature, wind and precipitation are in charge.

Polis made a plea for financial assistance to those impacted by the fires. Cash donations allow for flexible and immediate support.

Donations can be accepted at coloradoresponds.org, which covers a variety of needs; donations also accepted at LarimerCountyFires.com or BoulderCountyFires.com.

For Grand County, the Grand Foundation is accepting cash donations, according to Speaker of the House KC Becker of Boulder.

Polis also thanked “the men and women who run toward the flames. Some are professionals, some are volunteers with day jobs who drop everything at a moment’s notice,” as well as those working in emergency operations centers.

The governor also addressed the role of climate change and beetle-killed pine in the fires. “We’ve seen drier, hotter conditions in our state” as well as a statewide drought and those factors have led to climate conditions that are ideal for rapid growth of forest fires, he said.