Cooler temperatures and higher moisture levels were a welcome change for crews battling the Eightmile fire in eastern Fremont County, which was 65 percent contained Wednesday. Hundreds of firefighters from 36 assisting agencies, including the Colorado Springs and Black Forest fire departments, will be packing up and returning home soon.

The Rocky Mountain Incident Management Team will conclude its handling of the fire Thursday morning and hand over control to Bureau of Land Management officials, said Management Team spokesman John Peterson.

“A group of firefighters from the local BLM office will oversee firefighting efforts and will wait for the monsoons that are expected to bring rain and moisture to the area to finish putting out the fire,” Peterson said Tuesday.

The 528-acre blaze, burning in rugged and steep terrain by Phantom Canyon Road, about six miles northeast of Canon City, has been attacked mainly from the air by Type 1 and 3 helicopters and air tankers.

On Wednesday, there were 262 firefighters assigned to the Eightmile fire, of which 220 ground crews focused their efforts on building and strengthening containment lines, Peterson said.

Five firefighters with a command vehicle and a Type 3 engine from Colorado Springs fire were tasked with learning the ins and outs of the roads and residential areas close to the fire, said Capt. Steve Oswald.

“Their role is to know all access points for vehicles and residents, help out with emergency evacuations, figure out which structures can stand alone and which will need to be protected should the fire approach,” Oswald explained. “If incident command tells them to protect an area, they will know their way around.”

From Black Forest, three firefighters and a Type 6 engine, also known as a brush truck, were deployed to Fremont County last week, said spokeswoman Kathy Russell. Last year’s devastating Black Forest fire taught fire crews plenty about working with other agencies, she added.

“Without a doubt they are using everything they learned last summer when they were battling the Black Forest fire,” Russell said. “Every deployment is an opportunity to learn and grow for every firefighter. When our guys come back, they’ll have more to teach us.”

One Type 1 helicopter, two Type 3 helicopters and two air tankers have dropped more than 250,000 gallons of water from Brush Hollow Reservoir located northeast of the fire, since the lightning-sparked blaze started burning on June 23, Peterson said.

Firefighters began conducting mop-up operations Tuesday along the northwest, west, south and east boundaries of the fire line, putting out every hot spot within 100 feet of the containment lines, preventing the fire’s expansion.

With cooler temperatures in the mid 70s and calm winds in the forecast for Fremont County through Thursday, Peterson said fire crews were optimistic the hardest part of battling the Eightmile fire was behind them.

“We still have to watch out for possible lightning from thunderstorms, but hopefully all the predicted rain and moisture from the monsoons will finish putting out the fire.”

The Phantom fire, one mile west of the Eightmile fire, was reported Tuesday. A Type I hand crew was able to build a containment line with help from air resources and the area will be patrolled by engines, the Management Team said. The cause of the Phantom fire has not been determined.

Laura Landenwich, an attorney representing same-sex couples seeking the right to marry in Kentucky, speaks to reporters Tuesday, July 1, 2014, at her office in Louisville, Ky. A federal judge earlier in the day struck down the state’s ban on same-sex couples getting marriage licenses and overturned the state’s ban on gay couples getting married. The judge put the order on hold pending appeal. (AP Photo/Brett Barrouquere)

Brett Barrouquere