Wind-whipped Colorado fires force hundreds from homes

Homeowners in Larimer County, Colorado watch billowing clouds of smoke rise as wildfires spread through the mountain community

June 14, 2000
Web posted at: 3:51 a.m. EDT (0751 GMT)

In this story: Governor declares emergency Evacuees have little time to clear out Worst fire season start since 1996 RELATED STORIES, SITES

From staff and wire reports

PARK COUNTY, Colorado -- Two massive wildfires kept about 1,000 people away from their homes early Wednesday, after the number of burned acres tripled in a single day and Colorado's governor declared a state of emergency.

One of the fires, the so-called Bobcat fire north of Denver, burned about 10,000 acres by Tuesday night after making what one official called a "seven-mile run" that engulfed three or four structures and threatened about 250 others.

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"It has a high potential for more runs if the winds don't let up," said Dave Steinke, a fire information officer for the U.S. Forest Service. "It just looks pretty grim right now."

The other fire, known as the Hi Meadow fire, burned 5,000 acres by Tuesday night, about 35 miles southwest of Denver in Park and Jefferson counties. Authorities said more than two dozen homes have been destroyed by that fire, which they believe was sparked by lighning.

The two fires scorched about 15,000 acres by Tuesday night.

Residents forced from their homes watched from a ridge as five air tankers, grounded earlier by winds gusting up to 40 mph, fought the Hi Meadow inferno late Tuesday, while firefighters on the ground dug firebreaks.

Three firefighters suffered minor burns and their truck was heavily damaged Tuesday when the fire advanced faster than they expected, said Lynn Barclay of the incident management team.

Governor declares emergency

Colorado Gov. Bill Owens toured the Hi Meadow fire on Tuesday and later told reporters, "This could go on for a week, this is is the number one priority in the nation right now, in terms of fires."

The governor declared a state of emergency, making three counties -- Park, Jefferson and Larimer -- eligible for state firefighting funds. He also activated the National Guard to help firefighters battle the blazes.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday it had approved federal firefighting funds for the Hi Meadow Fire. On Monday FEMA made federal aid available for the Bobcat fire.

About 1,000 people were forced to evacuate because of the fires, including all 500 residents of Buffalo Creek, a town southwest of Denver that was ravaged by another wildfire four years ago.

The Bobcat fire forced the evacuation of about 420 people from their homes in a subdivision near Drake in Larimer County, about 90 miles north of the other fire. More evacuations were ordered Tuesday afternoon. Authorities believe the Bobcat blaze began with a campfire.

Steinke said more hot, dry and windy conditions were forecast. About 650 fire crews were battling the blazes and more than 300 others are on the way, including some called away from fires in New Mexico, Steinke said.

Evacuees have little time to clear out

Near Bailey, about 180 girls and employees at a Girl Scout camp were moved out Monday as a precaution, as authorities ordered 300 to 400 people out of the area due to the Hi Meadow fire.

That blaze exploded Monday as winds of more than 20 mph pushed flames from treetop to treetop, leaving many in the scattered mountain neighborhoods with little time to gather their belongings.

The flames drew within 50 yards of David Wortman as he and his wife loaded their horses into a trailer, hitched it to their pickup and fled with their dog. They could feel the heat inside the truck.

"Once I saw the flames that close, we had to get out," he said. "I couldn't stand between my house and the flames, it was that hot."

Firefighters were ordered to protect buildings first and think about containment second, said Doug Lee, a spokesman for a multiagency fire-management group.

Through the night, the flames moved below the crowns of the trees, allowing ground crews to begin working on containment, night incident commander Brad Ruder said. He said a cold front that moved through the area at midnight helped calm the blaze.

The number of burned homes near Bailey was expected to rise. Authorities described flames jetting from exposed natural gas pipes.

The fire was moving away from the Flying G camp, but officials evacuated 140 girls and 38 staffers as a precaution, said Rachelle Trujillo, a spokeswoman for the Girl Scouts' Mile High Council.

No immediate plans were made to evacuate 84 girls from a second camp 10 miles west of the fire, she said.

Worst fire season start since 1996

To the north, in Larimer County, the Bobcat fire was burning in pine and fir trees near Storm Mountain, said Larimer County sheriff's spokeswoman Cindy Gordon.

With much of the United States facing drought conditions and the heart of the fire season ahead, the Colorado fires were the most damaging of those burning across a number of Western states, including Arizona, California, New Mexico and Utah.

The nation is seeing the worst start of a fire season since 1996, the National Interagency Fire Center in Idaho said Monday.

The season began more than a month ago with blazes engulfing areas of Florida and the Southwest, most notably in Los Alamos, New Mexico.

By Monday, some 44,300 fires covering more than 1.2 million acres had been recorded nationwide -- and drought conditions already well known in the Southeast and Southwest were growing worse in the West.

CNN affiliate KCNC and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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