‘We’re going to be on this a while’: Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office says Quarry Fire is tough to fight

JEFFERSON COUNTY, Colo. — The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office said Thursday that the Quarry Fire is “just different” — the terrain is rocky, loose and tough for crews to navigate.

The area has dense vegeetation, including timber and scrub oak, which the Jeffco sheriff’s office said has been observed burning up to 50 feet high.

“I would be surprised if we put a ‘done’ sign on this thing in two days. No. That’s not going to happen. We’re going to be on this a while,” Mark Techmeyer, the director of public affairs for the Jeffco sheriff, said.

However, the good news is — the fire did not grow overnight Wednesday. It remains at 341 acres, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office. While temperatures are forecasted in the 90s Thursday, Jefferson County crews are hopeful the humidity rising may be helpful for keeping the fire from spreading.

Jeffco Sheriff’s Office provides Thursday morning update on Quarry Fire

San Juan hotshot crews arrived and started work on the fire Thursday, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office Thursday morning news conference.

“They’re like the SWAT team of firefighters,” Techmeyer said. “They take care of tough situations.”

Stacey Martin, the public information officer, said the hotshot crews train for this kind of assignment year-round. About 75 firefighters total are on the ground Thursday, according to the Jeffco Sheriff’s Office. There’s one helicopter and large air tanker working on tamping down the fire from the air.

The focus Thursday is to keep the fire from jumping to the north side of Deer Creek Canyon Road.

“That would be the worst case scenario,” Techmeyer said. “We don’t anticipate that to happen. Our number one goal is not to let that happen.”

There are limited resources available, though, due to all the other active wildfires in Colorado and in California, the Pacific Northwest and Canada.

Of the resources that are available to fight the Quarry Fire, Techmeyer said five firefighters were hospitalized Wednesday — four experienced heat exhaustion and the fifth had a seizure. Three of the four who had heat exhaustion were back on the job Thursday, according to Techmeyer.

“The morale is ‘let’s go to war,'” Techmeyer said.

While rattlesnakes are active in the area this time of year, Techmeyer said he has not heard any reports of a firefighter encountering one during their time working to contain the blaze.

“They are aware of a fire just like we are and they run,”

The Quarry Fire remains at 0% containment after it was first detected around 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, July 30. It was spotted by a Jefferson County sheriff’s deputy doing his regular patrol in the area at about 9 p.m. Tuesday when he came across a small 10×10 spot fire which grew to 100 acres within about three hours.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

“Everyone should be worried right now. There’s a huge fire that’s difficult to fight in our community. Not being worried would be the concern,” Techmeyer said.

575 homes have been evacuated across five subdivisions, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office.

Techmyer reassured people who have evacuated their homes that sheriff’s deputies are patrolling the area both night and day.

“There’s no burglaries going on,” Techmeyer said.

Road closures remain in place for South Valley Road and Deer Creek Canyon Road. South Cougar Road, Pleasant Road, West Ranch Trail and Keuster Road are also closed.

A map of the area under alert can be viewed here.

Those looking to recreate should look elsewhere outside of Jefferson County as Chatfield State Park is closed due to the fire, CPW posted on X.

In Jefferson County, the Lookout Alert emergency notification system is used to citizens with warnings of flood, fire, tornadoes, chemical spills or dangerous suspects. Lookout Alert is free for all residents. Click here to sign up.

The Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office is expected to have another press conference to provide a new update on the Quarry Fire Thursday afternoon.