That's what authorities are trying to determine this morning. Right now, the blaze, which has already scorched between 600 and 700 acres, is just 10 percent contained, with a hot, dry day on the horizon.
"We're going to be doing a flyover shortly," says Reservoir Road fire information officer Reghan Cloudman. "After that, we hope to get a little more information."
That leaves the 600-700 acre estimate as the latest available. In addition, Cloudman notes that "there were evacuations of a four-mile radius around Pinewood Reservoir, and we know that there's been at least one home lost."
There may be more structures to have suffered this same fate. "We have to get in there and be able to do an assessment," Cloudman allows. "Right now, they're working more on the fire than on that."
Firefighters stayed on the line overnight, and today, Cloudman says eight twenty-person hand crews will be trying to get the conflagration under control, assisted by ten to fifteen fire engines, one air tanker and four helicopters. Total number of folks officially deployed on Reservoir Road at this writing: 180. And as noted in the Fourmile Canyon update linked above, personnel assigned to the larger Boulder fire are on call in case they're needed in the Loveland area.
What about the potential for the Reservoir Road fire's growth? "It's predominantly burning on private land, but there is National Forest land to the north and west of the area, as well as more communities," Cloudman points out. Some evacuations have already taken place, and residents of the Bartram Park, Storm Mountain and Cedar Park subdivisions "were put on alert yesterday," Cloudman goes on. "Which means you might want to pack some stuff up and be prepared to evacuate."
That's a wise precaution given weather conditions. "Anytime there are warmer temperatures and/or wind, that's a concern for firefighters," Cloudman acknowledges. "It's definitely dry out there, and given the example of the two large fires we've dealt with along the Front Range, people really need to be cautious when they're out."
Some very basic information about Reservoir Road can be found at Inciweb.org. In the meantime, page down to see the latest videos posted by folks from around the area.
