Illegal fires ignite Colorado blazes
DENVER — An illegal campfire likely ignited another destructive blaze in Colorado, an outcome authorities were trying to avoid across the hot, dry U.S. West by enforcing strict fire rules and closing some public lands.
Several people have been arrested in two Colorado wildfires that burned homes after ignoring local and federal restrictions on campfires, target shooting and other activities aimed at combating and avoiding explosive blazes across the U.S. region.
Parts of Colorado and other Western states have been grappling with heat and severe drought. In Arizona, large swaths of national forests and state trust land have been closed since before Memorial Day, while some national forests in New Mexico are opening up after rain helped ease fire danger that kept popular trails and camping spots off limits for weeks.
A national forest in Colorado fully closed last month for the first time in 16 years to prevent new wildfires started by people. And Rocky Mountain National Park imposed a ban on all campfires starting Friday because of the risk of having a new fire start with firefighters already busy.
Investigators announced Monday that three people were arrested on suspicion of starting a campfire and leaving it unattended in Colorado’s southcentral mountains, sparking a blaze that destroyed at least eight homes.
Flames sparked in ski country also have led authorities to issue arrest warrants for two people at a shooting range accused of using tracer ammunition, which illuminates the path of fired bullets and is always banned at state ranges regardless of fire conditions. Prosecutors said one of the rounds ignited vegetation July 3.
The blaze destroyed three homes about 20 miles from Aspen, and other shooting ranges have temporarily closed because of fire danger.
More details on large wildfires across the West:
CALIFORNIA
Fires on both ends of the state eased Monday.
Crews gained some ground against flames on the California-Oregon border that killed a person and injured three firefighters. The blaze, which threatened more than 800 structures, partially was contained, but fire officials were concerned about erratic winds later Monday.
The fire has destroyed 81 structures, but officials have not determined how many are homes.
The wildfire raging through drought-stricken timber and brush has scorched 55 square miles and jumped into Oregon over the weekend.
In Southern California, several destructive blazes that broke out late last week during an intense heat wave quieted down.
NEVADA
A fast-growing wildfire roaring through dry grass kept fire crews busy Monday amid heat and high wind in remote northern Nevada.
Flames the size of a four-story building torched nearly 625 square miles of cattle-grazing land and habitat for the imperiled sage grouse near the border with Oregon and Idaho, said Norm Rooker with the fire’s incident management team.
Police are investigating how the fire ignited and looking for anyone camping in the sparsely populated ranching area July 4.
The blaze has come close to at least four ranches, but crews have protected them, Rooker said.
UTAH
Wet weekend weather helped crews fighting a Utah wildfire that torched dozens of buildings and forced more than 1,000 people from their homes.
The fire in a mountain area near a popular fishing reservoir grew to about 78 square miles, but containment also increased, authorities said Monday.
Scattered showers and relatively cooler temperatures were expected at least through today.