A firefighting helicopter flies towards the Lake Shore Fire after picking up water from the Gross Reservoir. (Lincoln Roch/ CU Independent)
On Thursday and Friday, firefighting efforts made significant progress against all four wildfires that burned across Colorado’s Front Range this week. The successes come after four days of resources and manpower stretched thin as new fires ignited.
In Boulder County, the Lake Shore Fire is now 100% contained. All evacuation orders for the area have been lifted.
The fire, which ignited on Wednesday at 2:00 p.m. burned seven acres and destroyed one home near Gross Reservoir. While active flames were put out by Thursday morning, fire crews remained at the burn site throughout the night to monitor the area.
One home was destroyed in the Lake Shore Fire. Neighboring properties had some damage to fencing, but no other homes were destroyed. (Lincoln Roch/ CU Independent)
Near Lyons, the Stone Canyon Fire has grown to 1,553 acres and is at 53% containment as of 5:30 p.m. on Friday. On Wednesday, some crews were diverted to the Lake Shore Fire, but resources have now returned to the Stone Canyon Fire. Evacuation orders for most of Lyons have now been lifted.
On Wednesday, the University of Colorado Boulder launched a fire resources page for students who may have been affected by any of the current four fires. Christine Mahoney, the director of communications for the division of public safety at CU Boulder, said this is the first time the page has been activated since the 2021 Marshall Fire.
“This fire and the other wildfires along the Front Range are impacting members of CU Boulder’s campus community,” Mahoney said. “We are working to identify those who live in the impacted communities so we can offer support and resources to them through this challenging and scary time.”
Thursday, Boulder County enacted stage two fire restrictions due to the risk created by extended hot and dry weather conditions. The order prohibits “building, maintaining, attending or using an open fire, campfire or stove fire on private and public lands,” according to the Boulder Office of Disaster Management.
Additionally, the use of fireworks, firearms, explosives and smoking outdoors less than ten feet from vegetation have been prohibited, among other restrictions.
Outside of Boulder County, progress was also made on the Alexander Fire in Larimer County, which has reached 9,375 acres and is at 5% containment. Roughly two dozen structures have burned in that fire. The Quarry fire in Jefferson County is still at 480 acres and 10% containment. No structures have been lost in that fire
Resources could continue to stretch thin as another fire in southern Colorado was reported Thursday. The Bucktail Fire in Montrose County was reported Thursday at 11:20 a.m. and has grown to 2,046 acres on mostly federal land.
Nine air tankers and two air helicopters have been dispatched to fight what the United States Forest Service is referring to as “extreme fire behavior” that has a high potential for spreading. Currently, no structures have been impacted.
This is a developing story and may be updated.
Contact CU Independent Assistant Arts Editor Lincoln Roch at lincoln.roch@colorado.edu.
