Hundreds Evacuated In Northern Colorado Wildfire

Larimer County officials said the High Park Fire has damaged 18 structures and prompted evacuations in the Paradise Park neighborhood northwest of Fort Collins.

According to county officials, the fire has burned 14,000 acres and there is no containment as of 12 p.m. Sunday.

Larimer County Sheriff’s spokesman John Schulz said the fire was reported just before 6 a.m. Saturday in the Paradise Park area.

A firefighter was taken out of the area on Saturday for heat exhaustion.

Authorities issued 183 more evacuation notices on Sunday in addition to about 1,600 issued earlier.

Schulz said there are more than 250 ground and engine crews on scene battling this blaze. They are also using a range of equipment including two heavy air tankers, two single-engine air tankers and helicopters.

The fire is burning on a mix of private and public land, fire officials said. The cause of the fire is not yet known.

Warm and windy conditions have made for high fire danger across much of Colorado. Much of the state has been placed under a red flag warning.

Gusty winds are carrying smoke that has been reported in the Monument area as well as parts of northern El Paso County.

Road closures include:

– Highway 14 from Ted’s Place to Stove Prairie Road – CR27 (Stove Prairie Road) south from Highway 14 – CR27 north of CR44H – CR44H (Buckhorn Road) west of CR27 – CR52E (Rist Canyon Road) west of CR27E

Evacuation areas include:

– CR27E to Bellvue. – Areas south and west of Bellvue to include the Lory State Park area, the Redstone Canyon area and Buckhorn Road up to the Stove Prairie School. – Poudre Canyon from MM111 to MM118 on Highway 14. This means Poudre Canyon from Stove Prairie to MM118 is under mandatory evacuations. – The area between CR27E and Stove Prairie Road and south through the entire Rist Canyon area including Davis Ranch Road, Whale Rock Road. South on CR44H 3 miles to just north of Stringtown Gulch Road – Paradise Park Road, Moose Horn Lane, Magic Lane and Spencer Mountain Road. – Old Flowers Road from Stove Prairie Road to the 8000-block of Old Flowers Road. – Stove Prairie Road north along County Road 27 to Highway 14, east along Highway 14 to approximately mile marker 111, southeast to Rist Canyon Fire Station 1, then back west to to include Wilderness Ridge Way, Rist Creek Road, Spring Valley Road and County Road 41 and all of the roads that run off of it. – Cache La Poudre Middle School in Laporte and the McKee building at the Ranch are the evacuation centers. Large animals may be taken to the Ranch at I-25 & Crossroads Blvd. Small animals may be taken to Larimer Humane Society.