Colorado Politics

Colorado Wildfires | A look at the fires burning in the state

Interstate 70 through Glenwood Canyon opened briefly Monday but closed again before re-opening Monday night as the Grizzly Creek fire flared up. Here’s a look at the size and other stats about Colorado’s wildfires, including the new Thorpe fire in Park County.

Grizzly Creek fire

Acres/Location: 30,719 acres/Glenwood Canyon

Containment: 33%

Started: Aug. 10, human caused

Firefighters: 804

Grizzly Creek fire responders worked on a new fire that started late Monday near Cottonwood Pass Road. The fire is near Slaughter Spring Gulch.

Intense heat and extremely dry conditions caused a flare up along I-70, just hours after it reopened Monday.

The interstate through Glenwood Canyon, between Gypsum and Glenwood Springs, had been closed for two weeks, opened to traffic Monday but closed again about 7:30 p.m., according to Colorado Department of Transportation.

It reopened again late Monday about 8:30 p.m.

The stretch of the major interstate was fully closed to clear the area and allow helicopters to fill buckets with water from the Colorado River, officials reported.

Firefighters continued burnout operations as well as mop-up operations. Fuels consumed by the fire transitioned from oak and piñon juniper to mixed-conifer and aspen.

Residents of the No Name area were allowed back into their homes because of “the comfort level” fire officials had with the conditions in the area, operations section chief Jeff Surber said Monday in a community briefing.

Firefighters walked up the Hanging Lake trail over the weekend and determined some work, including the removal of debris, will need to be undertaken on the trail before it can be safely reopened to the public, Surber said.

“We flew over the lake yesterday and it looks good from the air,” Surber said. “There’s burned areas above the lake that may cause silt flowing into the lake at some point in the future.”

RELATED:

Ash raining down on Colorado a sign of hotter, drier and more dangerous fire seasons

Grizzly Creek fire increases flood risk in Glenwood Canyon

Gov. Polis activates National Guard to assist with wildfire response

Pine Gulch fire

Acres/Location: 134,108/18 miles north of Grand Junction

Containment: 47%

Started: July 31, lightning

Firefighters: 907

Burning north of Grand Junction, the fire continued to grow and became the second largest fire in Colorado history, behind only the 2002 Hayman fire. No relief from the the dry weather is expected soon and the fire is likely to continue spreading as erratic winds picked up Monday, officials said.

The Pine Gulch fire fighting effort has been able to acquire more resources, including engines and access to more helicopters after Gov. Jared Polis on Saturday declared a state of disaster emergency.

Williams Fork fire

Acres/Location: 11,048/seven miles southwest of Fraser in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests

Containment: 5%

Started: Aug. 14, human caused

Firefighters: 2,312

Crews are monitoring the fire’s movement to keep it north of Williams Fork River. Firefighters are working around Denver Water Department supply structures and the Bobtail Mine to thin vegetation and set up sprinklers that can help defend structures if the need arises for them.

The fire is expected to keep burning for an extended time because of the high amount of standing dead and downed timber, including beetle-killed trees and extremely dry vegetation, officials said.

Cameron Peak fire

Acres/Location: 20,118/West of Fort Collins, Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests

Containment: zero percent

Started: Aug. 13, unknown cause

Firefighters: 742

Containment efforts and structure protection continued Monday using dozers and air support. There is a slight chance of rain, which is expected to dampen the the area, and more storms are forecast throughout the week.

Thorpe fire

Acres/location: 159/Pike and San Isabel National Forest, South Park Ranger District, off Forest Service Road 230 and Park County Road, west of Lake George.

Containment: 50%

Started: 1 p.m. Sunday, unknown cause

Firefighters: Forest Service fire resources including one bulldozer, one type 3 helicopter, three large air tankers and one very large air tanker

Crews used natural and man-made barriers to indirectly extinguish the blaze Sunday night.

Two subdivisions in the Weber Park area received evacuation notices as the small blaze moved through grass and timber. There have been no reports of injuries, but some structures are threatened.

Evacuations were lifted late Monday, but residents remained on pre-evacuation status.

Lewstone fire

Acres/location: 165/Rist Canyon 15 miles northwest of Fort Collins

Containment: 12%

Firefighters: 180

Started: 2:30 p.m. Saturday, unknown cause

Sustained air attacks and ground crews have succeeded in keeping the fire from spreading rapidly despite rugged terrain and unfavorable hot, dry and windy conditions, along with dried out-timber. Evacuations are in effect for the remote area.

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