Colorado fire grows, sends thousands fleeing
Colorado fire grows, sends thousands fleeing
13 June 2018
Published by https://edition.cnn.com/
USA – (CNN)Several wildfires in Colorado have prompted thousands of home evacuations and the closing of a national forest, fire officials said.
Nearly 1,400 homes have been evacuated in Summit County, Colorado, and more than 1,000 other homes could be in danger as the Buffalo Mountain wildfire burns nearby, according to Summit Fire & EMS.
The fire began Tuesday about 2 miles west of Silverthorne, a town with about 4,700 residents about 65 miles west of Denver. It has burned 100 acres in the Arapahoe and Roosevelt National Forests, officials said.
Smoke levels Tuesday were not a safety concern, Steve Prosise with the county’s environmental health office said.
“We have not lost any structures at this point,” the agency tweeted Tuesday.
The Buffalo Mountain blaze is one of at least six wildfires burning throughout the state.
The 416 Fire — the largest wildfire in the state — has burned more than 25,000 acres near the state’s border with New Mexico, firefighters’ spokeswoman Jamie Knight said Wednesday.
The fire has only been 15% contained since it was first reported on June 1. More than 1,000 people are fighting the blaze, officials said.
No one has been hurt, and no structures have burned down in the 416 Fire, La Plata County spokeswoman Megan Graham said.
Fuel breaks added to the forests in recent years have saved thousands of homes from “having fire in them,” US Forest Service official Jim Genung said.
The fire prompted officials to close San Juan National Forest.
The forest, which covers more than 1.8 million acres in western Colorado, announced the closure is intended “to protect natural resources and public safety.”
“Under current conditions, one abandoned campfire or spark could cause a catastrophic wildfire, and we are not willing to take that chance with the natural and cultural resources under our protection and care or with human life and property,” said Richard Bustamante, SJNF forest fire staff officer.
Anyone caught violating the closure, SJNF said, could be punished with an individual fine of up to $5,000 or $10,000 for an organization, a six-month prison sentence or both.
Gov. John Hickenlooper said the state is allocating many resources for the fires in the states.
“Our state agencies are here to support you. As we have proved time and time again, Coloradans are resilient,” he said.
State of local disaster
A helicopter works the wildfire on the east side of Hermosa Cliffs near Hermosa, Colorado.
On the day the 416 Fire started, La Plata County Manager Joanne Spina declared a state of local disaster, which led 1,500 residents to evacuate.
Graham said earlier that 2,162 structures or homes have been evacuated since the beginning of the fire, and 500 residents are currently on pre-evacuation.
The smoke from the wildfire has affected air quality, Graham said. State and local public health agencies have issued air quality advisories, warning residents to stay inside until smoke clears, and have warned those who have health risks to be extra cautious.
The other West Coast wildfires
The 416 Fire was one of several West Coast wildfires that began around June 1.
The Ute Park Fire in New Mexico began May 31 and forced 2,200 people in the area to evacuate their homes within the first three days of the blaze.
The wildfire was 92% contained on Wednesday, though Cimarron Canyon State Park would remain closed through July 8, according to InciWeb, a federal database of US fires. The Ute Fire has burned 36,740 acres.
No homes had burned, but 14 outbuildings have been destroyed.
A fire in California that burned almost 200 acres has been contained, officials said.
CNN’s Marlena Baldacci, Artemis Moshtaghian and Dave Alsup contributed to this report.
