Summit County Citizens Voice

Blaze now reported as 45 percent contained

The High Park Fire in Colorado on June 18.

By Summit Voice

SUMMIT COUNTY — More than a quarter of the 710 homes in the footprint of the 55,000-acre High Park Fire were burned by the flames, Larimer County Sheriff’s Department executive officer Nick Christensen said Saturday, releasing a list of 181 residences confirmed as destroyed.

“For us, it’s not just a number. We think about about everyone of the individuals affected by the fire,” Christensen said. “It’s possible that those numbers will fluctuate somewhat, but we think it’s pretty close to a final number.”

More information at http://www.larimer.org/highparkfire/.

That makes it Colorado’s worst fire in terms of structures lost, illustrating the great dangers of sprawling exurban development in fire-adapted ecosystems.

Firefighters made great strides in controlling the fire the past few days, as cooler temperatures and higher relative humidity helped more than 1,600 firefighters tackle the blaze on all fronts. As of Saturday evening, the fire was reported as 45 percent contained, at 55,050 acres.

The massive concentration of firefighting resources paid off in terms of structure protection, as no additional homes have been lost in the area the past few days.

Conditions will deteriorate Sunday again, with a Red Flag warming in effect for the area. High temperatures and strong winds could create more trouble spots along the western edge of the fire, choked with dense stands of beetle-killed and live trees. Winds could gust as high as 40 to 50 mph starting early in the morning.

Filed under: Colorado, Drought, Environment, forest fires Tagged: | Colorado, High Park Fire, High Park Fire containment, High Park fire map, High Park Fire property damage