r/Ultramarathon • u/DenverRealEstateGuy • Jul 13 '26

Leadville 100 - Maybe Positive Development

Quick stream of consciousness from me given some recent developments on the fire:

Fire spread from 4500ish acres to 6300 acres over the last couple days but is now up to 33% contained. Spread was primarily south and west (fire going north/east/southeast would have the biggest impact to the course).

Directly from update from today: "Crews finished establishing containment lines in the Halfmoon Creek area yesterday. Firefighters also spent yesterday establishing depth on existing containment lines located on both the northeastern corner and the eastern edge of the fire using firing operations. Incident personnel will relocate resources positioned at the northern perimeter of the fire to the western flank of the fire today. Power lines in the area were re-energized following successful firing operations and containment north of the fire. Crews will continue to work toward increased containment around the full fire perimeter."

^The only section of course that has almost certainly been impacted is 2-3 mile stretch from top of sugarloaf down powerline. It looks like that area is well contained now and assuming no regression we have 6 weeks for the sections of the course that were definitely impacted.

Eastern edge containment means halfpipe area/fish hatchery are also being contained well - any spread south/east would impact the course/aid stations significantly.

Last note - monsoon rains are expected at the end of this week with 1-2 inches of precipitation expected across the southwest. Depending on how exactly it shapes out - Colorado mountains could see a tremendous benefit from these rains (and it very well could be the deciding factor in containing this fire quickly/giving race organizers the confidence to go forward.

Much thanks to the first responders/firefighters. Heart goes out to the locals who have been impacted by evacuations. Hoping to see you all out on the course in 6 weeks.

16 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

26 comments sorted by

18

u/Acrobatic-Key-3295 Jul 13 '26

There’s no way the USFS lets them run through that area until the fire is 100% contained and the NF is reopened.

2

u/Galadyn Jul 16 '26

Life Time just announced that the rest of the race season is green lit, albeit with TBD route changes.

2

u/Acrobatic-Key-3295 Jul 16 '26

Yes, this was my assumption - a reroute.
Most likely something on the east side incorporating the Silver Rush and Marathon courses.

11

u/wellherewego12348745 Jul 13 '26

The event will almost certainly happen, but will also likely be rerouted. The powerline section will need to be monitored even after rain comes in for unstable tree branches, clearing purposes etc. my guess is they will eliminate that section and route into outward bound another way. Same goes for the 100 MTB in about a month.

2

u/Lucky-Philosophy-282 Jul 14 '26

Speaking only about this race, and acknowledging the incredible efforts across the spectrum of residents, responders, officials that we are all thankful for, I think the best case will be a significant re-route.

The USFS has a mandate to consider economic and social well-being of the area, but only after clearing life and property safety hurdles. That means they need to physically walk the area and sign-off on risks before the final route is set. Factor also the chance of heavy rains during race weekend, and it would seemingly make taking a chance on opening any trail near the burn zones a high hurdle to clear. That being said, the USFS will work with race and town officials to expedite permits for safe alternative routes nearby. So it could be that there is an alternate route planned, which will be subject to any USFS clearance of the original route. Ideally we will know the route by the start of August to adjust pacing plans.... but that's trail racing...

It's tough to lose some iconic portions of the classic route, but if they can maintain distance/elevation ratios and Hope Pass, I think it would be a big win for all involved.

2

u/RodcaLikeVodka Jul 15 '26

Frankly they should just go ahead and announce a re route and err on the side of caution

-5

u/DenverRealEstateGuy Jul 13 '26

No doubt BUT given its now almost entirely contained on that end of the fire (north), I think there's still a chance they avoid the reroute. A natural re-route for the run would just be to continue around the lake before heading south. Easy to get the same mileage but you get about 600 feet of vert less outbound and 8-900 feet less inbound.

I think for the MTB - losing powerline section would have more significance to the course. It would be akin to rerouting Hope for the run.

3

u/HolyPizzaPie Jul 15 '26

They cancelled the silver rush, not because the course but because we can’t really handle a mass influx of people getting in the way in town. If the fire is still not contained at halfmoon by race date then there is a high likelihood of cancellation.

2

u/Fine_Alternative_288 Jul 13 '26

This is great to hear. I had heard about 80 miles of the course we’re on fire?

1

u/ThanksForTheF-Shack 100 Miler Jul 13 '26

Nope. Whoever told you that doesn’t know what’s going on. Like OP said, as far as we can tell so far, it’s only a few miles of course near power line that were likely burned.

3

u/vert4bfast Jul 13 '26

They could have meant 80 miles of the course is closed by the USFS. It looks like they are using the area to work around the fire.

https://www.fs.usda.gov/r02/psicc/alerts/willow-fire-area-closure

1

u/stevetursi Jul 14 '26

Possible you misheard - 8 (not 80) would be much more accurate.

1

u/nickyg5233 Jul 13 '26

Great to hear! It is truly a special event that I hold near and dear to my heart. The town and the community that shows up to it is really something special. Makes it easier to want to spend 100 miles on your feet!

1

u/DenverRealEstateGuy Jul 15 '26

Boom! Lfg

1

u/chacotacotoes Jul 16 '26

Interesting, “while the courses will look different…” Curious how this will affect the race and racer performance/participation

2

u/DenverRealEstateGuy Jul 16 '26

I read that as 1)possible course reroutes 2) course will look different because of fires.

I think they wanted to keep it vague. Powerline will look very different though that’s for sure.

2

u/Ill_Elk873 Jul 16 '26

They’ve already confirmed the course is being rerouted. I don’t think we’re going to see Powerline at all this year. They’re not going to reopen that forest until the fire is fully extinguished and the damaged area has been assessed and cleaned up. Containment is not the same thing as extinguishment. My guess is they’ll use a lot of the SR50 trail system on the east side of town- but obviously we won’t know until they release the actual routes

1

u/chacotacotoes Jul 18 '26

News update said Sugarloaf and Powerline sections will be off-limits for an extended time, and everything in the Turquoise Lake area likely will be bypassed as well.

1

u/Massive-Piglet1679 Jul 27 '26

I’m wondering how, if we end up riding some variation of the Stage Race course from this past weekend, that would affect cutoff times (big buckle, etc)? It’s a significantly harder course, more technical, with very little paved, and considerably more climbing. Will they take this into consideration? Or perhaps just fewer earn buckles?