Stand 3 - The 16th Bowl

Stand 3 is located up the ridge from a prominent juniper tree in between the 16th and 17th Bowls. The two bowls have been named as to reference the fire behavior which occurred on those days in each bowl.

The bowl to the north is referred to as the "16th Bowl" and the bowl to the south is referred to as the "17th Bowl".

Fire behavior in the 16th Bowl was extreme, characterized by intense surface and crown fire, hooking uphill runs and fire whirls late in the day. Most of the 16th Bowl was burned by night fall.

On June 14th there was an extensive frost in the area, which killed more than 50% of the leaves on the Gambel's Oak. At the time of the fire, many of the dead leaves were found to be still hanging in the canopy while others had fallen, creating a 1-2 inch litter layer. There was a warning issued prior to this fire concerning this extreme fire behavior condition, but the firefighters were not aware of it.

Estimated fuel moistures of the dead leaves in the oak canopy and other fine fuels were estimated to be between 7% and 8% at the time of the fire.

View looking north into the base of the 16th Bowl. County Road 302 can be seen along the bottom of the slope. In the distance is the community of Morrisania Mesa and Parachute, Colorado.

Looking east from Stand 3, up the 16th Bowl. Re-growth vegetation is 3-4 feet high in most places, with some unburned pockets still almost 10 feet high. Vegetation is primarily a mix of Gambel's Oak, Mountain Mahogany and Serviceberry.