Fires menace Colorado
DENVER — An erratic wildfire charging through extremely dry land in the heart of Colorado ski country destroyed three homes and forced people to flee, authorities said Thursday.
Elsewhere in Colorado, a rare high-elevation tornado touched down at the site of another wildfire Thursday but apparently caused little damage and had no effect on the fire.
They were among more than 60 large blazes burning across the United States, mostly in the West, where whipping winds and increasing heat have made it easy for flames to spread.
Fires exploded in Northern California, Utah and other areas, where a prolonged and severe drought has desiccated forests.
In Colorado, residents of multimillion-dollar properties, modest condos and mobile homes were ordered to evacuate early Thursday because of an unpredictable wildfire reported the night before near the town of Basalt. More than 500 homes were affected.
The Eagle County Sheriff’s Department said no other homes had been lost besides the three reported earlier.
Smoke from the fire temporarily halted flights into the resort town of Aspen, about 20 miles away.
Authorities believe the flames started after people at a shooting range used tracer bullets, which illuminate the path of fired bullets.
A tornado was reported Thursday south of Fairplay, a central Colorado town about 10,000 feet (3,000 meters) above sea level. It appeared to touch down at or near the edge of a wildfire that has burned about 17 square miles (43 square kilometers), National Weather Service meteorologist Russell Danielson.
Tornadoes are rare at that elevation and are seldom seen at any wildfire, Daniels said.
Another Colorado wildfire about 205 miles southwest of Denver destroyed more than 130 homes and forced more than 2,000 people in three counties to evacuate. It grew to about 160 square miles (nearly 420 square kilometers) Thursday.
Rain was expected in parts of Colorado, which could dampen fires but trigger flash flooding in areas left bare by wildfires.