Stand 2 - Overlook Ridgeline
The trail up to the ridge takes visitors on the journey of the firefighter. It was left steep and rough allowing visitors to experience something similar to what firefighters encounter. Signs provide visitors with information about why firefighters would choose this job and what they need to be aware of to do their job safely and efficiently.
Early in the morning on July 5th an initial attack response consisting of an Incident Commander and a crew of seven from the local BLM district was sent to the South Canyon Fire. They walked to fire up the East Drainage which took approximately 2 ½ hours. The crew cut a helispot (H-1) on the ridge above the fire and began direct line construction downhill along the fire edge below the helispot. The Incident Commander ordered another engine crew, a helicopter, and a 20-person crew. Due to a shortage of handcrews, it was decided that a load of eight smokejumpers would be substituted for the 20-person crew.
Suppression efforts that day consisted of direct hand line and air tanker drops. The drops were deemed ineffective due to high winds and steep terrain. Late in the afternoon, the BLM firefighters left the fire when the eight smokejumpers parachuted onto the main ridge line. The two crews never made face-to-face contact and the smokejumpers talked with the Incident Commander by radio to get instructions for their assignment.
That evening the fire had crossed the line constructed earlier by the BLM Crew and was burning actively. After sizing up the fire, the Jumper-in-Charge called Grand Junction District Dispatch and ordered two Type 1 handcrews. The smokejumpers began building a downhill fireline on the east side of the ridge.
On July 5th the fire grew from 29 acres at 08:00 to 50 acres by 22:00.
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