DENVER—Dozens of firefighters toiled Monday to contain wildfires crackling in dry shrubs and foliage, including one that forced the evacuation of about 30 homes in western Colorado.
A wildfire that grew quickly to 300 acres Monday evening roared to about a half-mile from hundreds of homes west of Glenwood Springs, 160 miles west of Denver.
No structures had burned, but authorities were closely monitoring the winds, which earlier whipped up the flames, in case more evacuations were needed. A shelter was opened at a middle school in neighboring New Castle
The blaze, burning on private land, was believed to be one of several sparked by lightning in western Colorado Sunday night. Three heavy air tankers, a single-engine plane and a helicopter were dumping water and fire retardant on the flames.
At least 50 firefighters from departments throughout the area were battling the blaze.
Bureau of Land Management spokesman David Boyd said the winds had calmed down late Monday night.
“They’re optimistic they’ll be able to catch it” in the morning, Boyd said.
A small fire farther west was cause for concern because it was burning within 200 yards of homes and gas wells about 4 miles east of Parachute, roughly 200 miles west of Denver. BLM spokeswoman Mel Lloyd said crews had kept the fire at 4 acres all afternoon.
A second blaze grew to about 900 acres from 400 acres by evening in a remote area on a hillside above the community of Cameo, 45 miles west of Parachute. An air tanker and helicopter were diverted from that fire to the one about seven miles west of Glenwood Springs.
Lloyd said the temperatures hovering in the high 80s, low humidity and winds, posed problems for the fire crews.
Western Colorado, unlike the Denver area and the rest of the eastern face of the Rockies, missed out on precipitation from late spring storms.
“As far as fire danger right now, we’re still expecting an average season, but the western part of the state is very dry,” said Larry Helmerick of the Rocky Mountain Coordination Center.
About 50 firefighters were working on the fire west of Parachute, dubbed Cottonwood Creek. Hose lines had been established to the flames but Lloyd said the crews could be hampered by winds.
One home was evacuated for a short time but no other evacuations or damage were reported, she said. Its size was downgraded from 5 acres to 4 acres after an initial assessment was revised.
A blaze dubbed the Whittaker Flats fire was burning on remote federal land above Interstate 70 near the town of Cameo.
“Although you can see it from I-70, it takes about four hours to reach it by vehicle,” Lloyd said.
As the summer fire season gets under way, Helmerick said it’s a good time for homeowners who live near forests to fireproof their property.
Among his tips: keep grass cut close to the ground; eliminate trees near structures; eliminate debris from gutters; and move woodpiles away from structures.
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Associated Press writers Don Mitchell and Judith Kohler contributed to this story.
