East Troublesome, CalWood blazes force new evacuations
Residents in Grand and Boulder counties were forced to evacuate Wednesday because of wildfires burning in the areas.
In Grand County, the East Troublesome fire crossed Colorado 125 on Wednesday afternoon and the sheriff’s office ordered mandatory evacuations.
People living east of Colorado 125 and north of U. S. 40, to mile post 5, were ordered to evacuate, according to the sheriff’s office.
Driven by strong winds, the fire on Wednesday afternoon produced a huge column of dark smoke, which could be seen for miles.
CDOT announced on Twitter late Wednesday night that U. S. 40 was closed between Hemlock Street and U. S. 34. Colorado 125 was also closed in the area.
“Take an overnight bag with necessary items and leave,” the sheriff’s office said. Property owners were advised to leave gates unlocked so firefighters can access the properties.
“Considerable smoke” was blowing into the Grand Lake area. Fire ground and air crews were concentrating on the east side of the fire.
Shortly before 9 p. m., the National Weather Service in Boulder directed residents of Grand Lake to evacuate. The west side of Rocky Mountain National Park was closed due to significant fire activity.
Trail Ridge Road was open late Wednesday for evacuation eastbound but closed westbound at Rainbow Curve.
The fire crossed Colorado 125 in the Cabin Creek area, the sheriff’s office said. The C Lazy U Ranch, near Willow Creek Reservoir, was among the properties evacuated.
The Grand County Office of Emergency Management on Twitter said the sheriff’s office issued a mandatory evacuation order for all areas west of U. S. 34 and all residents north of mile marker 3 on U. S. 34. The sheriff’s office also issued a mandatory evacuation for Area H.
Fire officials, in a late afternoon update, said the fire made a “significant run in heavy fuels” on Wednesday.
The fire, which started on Oct. 14 north of Hot Sulphur Springs, has burned 19,086 acres, about 30 square miles, as
of Wednesday. It was 10% contained.
Residents of the Lyons Park Estates were ordered to evacuate their homes Wednesday because of the CalWood fire amid a Red Flag Warning for critical fire conditions, as deputies with the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office were going door to door advising residents of the order.
The Red Flag Warning, posted by the National Weather Service at noon Wednesday, called for strong, gusty winds and dry weather conditions for the Front Range Foothills, including Boulder County, in the afternoon and overnight, as well as Thursday afternoon and evening.
Overnight humidity in the foothills was expected to be about 25% with winds gusting to
50 mph along higher ridges and down to about 9,000 feet in elevation. Winds in the foothills are expected to gust to about 30 mph during the day on Thursday.
“All residents being evacuated should think about any winterization that needs to be completed to their property due to the possible incoming winter weather,” the Boulder Office of Emergency Management said on Twitter.
The number of homes under the order was 104 with about 234 people impacted, OEM said.
The afternoon order was to give residents time to “safely evacuate” and prevent hurried evacuations in the dark of night, OEM said.
Fire crews increased containment on the CalWood fire on Wednesday, which is now burning 9,978 acres, more than 15 square miles, in Boulder County.
The fire was 24% contained at the end of the day Wednesday, up from 21% Wednesday morning, fire officials said in an evening update.
The Lefthand Canyon fire on Wednesday evening was 460 acres, less than 1 square mile, with containment jumping from 4% to 43%, according to InciWeb.
On Wednesday evening, Mike Wagner, division chief with the sheriff’s office, said between both fires, just under 2,000 residences have been evacuated, impacting about 3,500 people.
On Wednesday, fire crews had planned to work on the southeastern side of the CalWood fire, as the flames headed back down the hill toward Spruce Gulch, officials said. Resources were also to be devoted to protecting structures in the Balarat area on the southwestern side of the fire, officials said, as well as making sure the fire stayed south of Colorado 7.
Meanwhile, in a Wednesday evening news release, Denver Mountain Parks announced the closure of properties in Clear Creek County. The closures include Echo Lake, Summit Lake, Hicks Mountain, Pence Mountain, Mt. Judge, Snyder Mountain and Forsberg Park, as well as the Beaver Brook Trail at Genesee Park in Jefferson County, Denver Parks said in the release.
To the north, the Cameron Peak fire in Larimer County grew slightly Wednesday, and is now burning 206,667 acres, nearly 323 square miles, with 55% containment, officials said in a Wednesday evening update.