Wildfire destroys over 100 Colo. homes
DENVER — More than 100 homes in the southern Colorado mountains were destroyed by a growing wildfire, while hundreds of others across the parched U.S. West remained under evacuations Tuesday and the closure of recreation areas derailed holiday plans.
Authorities announced late Monday that a fire near Fort Garland, about 25 miles east of Alamosa and about 65 miles north of the New Mexico state line, had destroyed 104 homes in a mountain housing development started by multimillionaire publisher Malcolm Forbes in the 1970s. The damage toll could rise because the burn area is still being surveyed.
Ellen Booth and Larry Booth told KRDO-TV in Colorado Springs that they lost their vacation home where they planned to live in retirement and were not able to insure because of recent destructive fires in Colorado.
Despite losing antiques and family paintings, they felt fortunate.
“All my neighbors, that’s their primary home. This is just a second home to us,” said Ellen Booth, who described the burned area as looking like it had been hit by a bomb.
The fire, labeled the Spring Fire, is one of six large wildfires burning in Colorado and the largest at 123 square miles, about five times the size of New York’s Manhattan. While investigators believe it was started by a spark from a fire pit, other fires, like one that began burning in wilderness near Fairplay, were started by lightning.
Nearly 60 large, active blazes are burning across the West, including nine in New Mexico and six each in Utah and California, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
In New Mexico, all or part of three popular national forests remain closed because of the threat of wildfire, putting a damper on holiday camping plans. The forests that are open have strict rules, especially when it comes to fireworks.
“We’re just urging people to use extreme caution,” said Wendy Mason, a spokeswoman for the New Mexico State Forestry Division.
“We want people to have fun and enjoy themselves, but we prefer they leave the fireworks shows to the professionals.”