Grizzly Creek Fire at 0% containment, I-70 remains closed
GLENWOOD SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) — A portion of Interstate 70 remains closed in western Colorado on Wednesday because of a wildfire that has grown to 5 square miles in hot, dry and windy conditions. It is 0% contained.
The Grizzly Creek Fire started 5 miles east of Glenwood Springs on Monday, when large flames in the highway’s median spread to the north of the highway.
On Tuesday, the fire spread in multiple directions, including to the south across the other side of I-70 and jumping the Colorado River which runs alongside it, U.S. Forest Service spokesman David Boyd said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation but firefighters believe it was related to traffic on the interstate, the Glenwood Springs Post Independent reported.
The Garfield County Sheriff’s Office evacuated the communities of No Name and Lookout Mountain east of Glenwood Springs on Tuesday.
Some residents elsewhere in the county have been forced from their homes because of a 66-square-mile fire burning north of Grand Junction. It was started July 31 by lightning and is 7 percent contained.
