FORT COLLINS, Colo. (KKTV) - A wildfire raging west of Fort Collins exploded over the weekend, gaining tens of thousands of acres and raining ash across parts of northern Colorado.
The Cameron Peak Fire ignited Aug. 13, one of four major wildfires burning across Colorado since the end of July. While firefighters have made significant gains on the Pine Gulch and Grizzly Creek fires in western Colorado, bringing them to 87 and 83 percent containment respectively, the Cameron Peak Fire remains just 5 percent contained. As of Monday morning, it has burned 59,051 acres and is the sixth-largest wildfire in state history, and second in size only to the Pine Gulch for fires currently burning in Colorado. The fire was 26,000 acres at the start of the weekend.
The wildfire forced more evacuations over the weekend and shut down Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park Sunday due to heavy smoke and limited visibility. The fire continues to spread into the park, officials said Monday.
“The finger of the fire that has moved into Rocky Mountain National Park continued southeast as it progressed into the Cascade, Mummy and Hague Creek drainages,” an incident commander wrote on the official Facebook page.
The most recent map can be seen below:
More evacuations were issued Monday for Glacier View and the area between Stove Prairie Landing south on County Road 27 to County Road 44H and east to include Stratton Park, and along Highway 14 from Kelly Flats to Stove Prairie Landing.
The National Weather Service out of Boulder reported a smoke plume up to 35,000 feet at one point Saturday.
According to the Fort Collins Coloradan, residents of Fort Collins complained of ash in their neighborhoods Saturday. The Coloradan says there were also reports of ash falling in Greeley and as far south as the Denver metro.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but suspected to be human-caused.
Fire behavior is expected to decrease the first half of this week due to a rare summer snowstorm arriving in the state late Monday to early Tuesday. Fire officials said on the official fire website that 6-12 inches were expected to fall on the fire.
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September 08, 2020 at 03:15AM
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Cameron Peak Fire explodes in size, now 59,000 acres and 6th-largest in state history - KKTV
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