More than half a dozen large fires burn out of control across Colorado as triple-digit temperatures with low humidity and strong winds make matters worse.
A firefighter works the scene of a home being consumed by flames in Estes Park, Colo. As many as 21 structures were destroyed by the fire on Saturday. Eight separate wildfires are burning across Colorado, which is seeing record-breaking heat. (photo: Darrell Spangler/AP)
26 June 12
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ore than a half-dozen large fires continued to burn out of control across Colorado on Monday - and yet another day of triple-digit temperatures with low humidity and strong winds were making matters worse.
"You're reacting to what Mother Nature gives you," said Steve Segin, public information officer at the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center for the U.S. Forest Service. Colorado is experiencing its worst fire season in a decade. "What's different this year is the conditions," he said.
As of Monday morning, nearly 2,000 federal firefighters had joined the effort in Colorado, joining hundreds of state and local firefighters in battling blazes both large and small. More than a dozen small fires erupted on Sunday alone, but most were quickly brought under control.
The No. 1 priority Monday was the Waldo Canyon fire, just west of Colorado Springs, which has burned more than 3,600 acres and was at zero containment.
Although the fire has claimed no homes, its proximity to a city of nearly a half-million people was worrisome, Segin said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times.
The entire town of Manitou Springs was evacuated Sunday, but most of the 6,000 residents were allowed to return to homes Monday. The Garden of the Gods park, a top tourist attraction in the area, remained closed.
Elsewhere in the state, the High Park fire, just west of Fort Collins, remained at 45% containment, reduced over the weekend from 60% when a flare-up Friday claimed 57 homes. So far that fire has burned 83,205 acres, severely damaging or destroying 248 homes.
The High Park fire has been the most destructive, and second-largest, fire in state history. It's been blamed for one death, bringing the total number of deaths in Colorado this fire season to four.
As of Monday morning, other fires across the state include the Treasure fire, which has burned 350 acres and was 15% contained; the Little Sand fire, near Durango, which has burned 21,615 acres and was 34% contained; the Stateline fire, near the new Mexico border, which has burned 350 acres and was 15% contained; and the Weber fire, near Mesa Verde National Park, which has burned 6,800 acres and was zero percent contained.
The fire that destroyed 22 homes near Estes Park over the weekend was nearly 100% contained.
The National Weather Service issued a red flag warning of imminent fire danger for most of the state on Monday, and Gov. John Hickenlooper's statewide ban on open burning continues.
The governor also issued a similar ban on personal fireworks, even though some vendors have already set up tents to sell them. In some counties, authorities say they will vigorously enforce a zero tolerance ban on all fireworks, including sparklers and a type called snakes.
