What a difference a week makes.
It was a week ago to the day, on March 17, that the 24 wildland fire broke out, and Friday, March 20, a local disaster declaration was enacted retroactive to March 17.
On Tuesday, the Fremont County Commissioners were advised to allow the declaration, which may only extend seven days without renewal, to expire.
“It does look like we are very close to wrapping the county’s involvement in the fire,” said Fremont County Attorney Eric Bellas during Tuesday’s board of commissioners’ meeting.
The action followed a detailed report from County Administrator Tony Carochi, in which he indicated the “24 Fire” is 24% contained.
“The fire remained at approximately 7,385 acres,” Carochi said, detailing a report from the on-scene fire commander.
In order to advance from 0% containment, as reported Monday morning by the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office, to 24% containment Tuesday morning, a lot of progress was required.
“This is the result of hard work strengthening the control lines around the fire,” Carochi said. “Great progress was made along State Hwy. 115.”
Displaced residents in El Paso and Fremont counties have been allowed to return to their homes.
“They are still considered to be on a pre-evacuation status until we get an update,” Carochi said. “Hwy. 115 is still closed. It is expected to be closed until Friday.”
The Fremont County emergency operations center remains open, Carochi said, and anyone with concerns related to the “24 Fire” should call the hotline at 719-276-7421.
Commissioners each took a turn praising the community’s response.
“It was amazing, over the last few days, just to watch the outpouring of support from the community,” Commissioner Kevin Grantham said. “Some faith-based organizations were ready to offer a mobile kitchen, showers, and beds. The whole community was ready to help.”
He joined Carochi in praise of Fremont County residents being so reactive to needs related to the wildfire.
“It is impressive to see our communities come together so quickly,” Grantham said.
Commissioner Debbie Bell recalled her visit to the operations center.
“To see the level of engagement and seriousness those folks were taking is also impressive,” she said. “All of our first responders have done an incredible job. Thank God it wasn’t worse than it was.”
The quantity of individuals – both emergency responders and others – involved is staggering, Commissioner Dwayne McFall said.
“This isn’t the first time this has happened, and unfortunately, it won’t be the last,” he said. “The fire is still burning. It is not over yet.”
He encouraged residents to restrain from starting any fires, as he urged diligence.
The reason progress has been made on the wildland fire in recent days, he says, is partially the drop in temperature.
“They believe this fire was started by a truck,” he said. “That tells you how dry it is out there.”
The sheriff’s office Facebook post reads that smoke could continue to be visible in the area as emergency crews fight the fire.
Upgrade to fire restrictions
Sheriff Allen Cooper has lifted Fremont County from Stage 1 fire restrictions to Stage 2, which adds several more restrictions to the county’s burn ban.
The essential differences between Stage 1 and State 2 restrictions are related to fire and campfire in developed areas.
“The sheriff has the ability to move through the stages [of restriction],” McFall said. “[Stage 2] is a little more extreme because of the dryness.”
The U.S. Drought Monitor places about three-fourths of Fremont County in abnormally dry conditions and one-quarter of the county in no drought level at all. El Paso County is also in Stage 2 restrictions, but other agencies have not lifted restrictions.
“[Bureau of Land Management] is in Stage 1,” McFall said. “The U.S. Forest Service criteria is way out of wack. The whole place will burn down before they go into fire restrictions.”
He adds, “If you didn’t know, it is hot and dry. There is a drought.”
Watching the legislature
How much of a shortfall in revenues to expenses in the state budget there will ultimately be was a point of discussion by Commissioner Kevin Grantham.
He notes the floating of deficits ranging from $700 million to $1.47 billion.
“When they start making cuts, these are not simply tweaks to come up with a balanced budget,” Grantham said. “There are going to have to be significant changes.”
The cuts, Grantham says, are of Democrats’ “own making that we’re going to have to end up paying for … and by we I mean we the counties, we the cities.”
In other business…
• Michelle Boscia, the public health educator for Fremont County’s Department of Public Health, presented the recently launched Traffic Crash Dashboard, detailed at the previous meeting by County Administrator Tony Carochi. Boscia reviewed various elements of the dashboard, including filters, during the presentation. The county discussed potentially creating an easier-to-find location for the dashboard.
• Jim Sheridan, the Honor Flight president representing VFW Post 2788, joined commissioners in proclaiming Saturday, April 11, as Honor Flight of Southern Colorado Day in Fremont County.
• The Department of Human Services joined commissioners in proclaiming April as Fremont County Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month.
• The Department of Public Health joined commissioners in proclaiming the week of April 6 as National Public Health Week.
• Early childhood advocates joined commissioners in proclaiming the week of April 11-17, 2026, as the Week of the Young Child.
• A special event alcohol permit was issued to the Royal Gorge Chamber Alliance for 4-8 p.m. April 9 at the Colorado Shed Co., 155 Shoop Dr. in Penrose. “It will be a good time to showcase a local business and see what they are doing,” said Emmy Dennehy in her presentation to commissioners.
• Michelle Boscia, Autumn Dever, and Linda Sand were recognized for their Perfect Performance Recognition award related to the vital records office. The award recognizes perfect recording performance in a variety of areas.
Brian Porter is a special government and politics contributor to the Cañon City Daily Record.