‘KO Fire’ near Penrose grows to over 60 acres; mandatory evacuations lifted

Fremont County, Colo. (KRDO) -- The Fremont County Sheriff's Office (FCSO) has lifted mandatory evacuations for all of Fremont County Road F45.

As of 8:30 p.m., FCSO says the fire is around 64 acres with 0% containment. Officials say firefighters continue to make progress on the "KO fire," but winds remain a challenge.

First responders confirm that three separate fires were initially reported; the largest fire is near Mile Marker 20. Officials say the smaller fires near the bottom of the hill and on O Street have been extinguished.

Both directions of Highway 115 near Penrose have been reopened, says FCSO.

"It's time to go home," Jerry Swanberg, an evacuee said. "I'd much rather be home." 

"Relief. We're ready to go to bed," Jennifer Martinez, a Penrose resident who was forced to evacuate, said.

"We're ready to go home," Cindy Forbes, another resident said.

It ends a tense day which began Thursday morning.

"I was like, why is there flames in the neighbor's property? So we started panicking and getting everybody out," Martinez said.

"It was pretty hectic because, actually, I was headed out to go get water. And that's when I seen the fire on the left side of the road," Swanberg said.

"It was so close to the house that I was scared," Forbes said. "We kind of held out on the last fire, but this, the flames were way too close to the house."

These residents were forced to evacuate their horses, goats, and dogs. Thanks to the work of fire crews, they're able to return home safely, and sleep in their own beds.

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