JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colorado – Jefferson County officials said they do not anticipate any pre-evacuations or evacuations because of the Goltra Fire, which began raging Tuesday afternoon on a hillside in Clear Creek Canyon, about a mile from the outskirts of Golden.
In a 4 p.m. update, Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office (JCSO) spokesperson Jacki Kelley said the fire is 204 acres in size and the containment rate is not yet known, but that information will be posted on JCSO social media Wednesday evening.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
“We had a good day, a very good day, according to our operations manager,” Kelley said.
She noted that while firefighters used aircraft to drop water on Wednesday, they were unlikely to need air support on Thursday, but those teams would remain available in case anything changed.
Denver7
The Goltra Fire was discovered Tuesday afternoon and within an hour, the JCSO said staff believed lightning had sparked the fire as a storm had passed through the area shortly before. This was later confirmed Wednesday morning. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, the fire had expanded to 10 acres and the JCSO said no structures were in danger.
No aircraft were deployed on Tuesday because the fire broke out later in the day, when there was only a short window of daylight left, and because the fire did not threaten infrastructure, Kelley said.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office
“We always look: What assets are at risk? What do we need to allocate these additional funds to? It’s watersheds, water supplies, housing. It’s things like that infrastructure,” she said. “And none of that was true last night and still isn’t true. We need to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars and order what we need and not overextend ourselves. That was the decision that was made last night and we stand behind that decision.”
Firefighters monitored the fire overnight into Wednesday, but encountered unexpected “erratic fire behavior” due to winds in Clear Creek Canyon. Authorities decided to close Highway 6 in both directions as a precaution as the fire continued to spread significantly overnight, the JCSO said. The fire was already mapped to 198 acres on Wednesday.
Timelapse of the Goltra Fire in Jeffco
In an update Wednesday morning, the JCSO said wind was still “a significant factor” in firefighters’ efforts, in addition to the already difficult terrain. The JCSO reiterated that there was no threat to structures.
During the afternoon press conference, Kelley said firefighters had done an incredible job. They had thrown “a lot of water” on the fire and that crews on the scene had made good progress despite the steep and rocky terrain. The winds had also died down, she said. Some brush and grass were still burning on the west side of the fire down to the road. Because of this, Highway 6 in the canyon will not be open to the public on Wednesday, but may not reopen until Thursday.
Watch the press conference with JCSO from Wednesday afternoon below.
Goltra Fire | Wednesday, Update 4pm
Kelley confirmed that the fire is near residential homes, and the fire’s origins are about a mile from some roads in the Golden area.
“It’s worrying a lot of people,” she said. “It’s making everyone nervous… Golden is very concerned about the fire, but no assets are at risk.”
On Wednesday, 60 firefighters from multiple agencies in the Denver metropolitan area responded to the scene, including West Metro Fire Rescue, Jefferson County Open Space, Foothills Fire Department, Golden Gate Fire Department, Fairmount Fire Protection District, Arvada Fire, Genesee Fire Rescue and Golden Fire Department, as well as Douglas County wildfire fighters and a county helicopter.
