The first major wildfire of the season burning near New Castle is now 75 percent contained, and officials said they may allow evacuees to return to their homes later today.
Officials hope to have a containment line around the entire 1,800-acre blaze today. Costs for fighting the fire, started by a lightening strike Sunday, were estimated at $975,000, according to the Rocky Mountain Area Coordination Center.
A back burn today cleared any remaining fuel from the area between the active fire and the homes, said David Boyd, spokesperson for the Bureau of Land Management. Calm winds and higher humidity helped stop the spread of the wildfire near Glenwood Srpings.
“It is looking good,” said Boyd. “Today the goal is to keep the fire from spreading.” About 280 firefighters were working the fire, aided by water drops from helicopters.
The National Weather Service forecast light winds later in the day. Boyd said clouds were moving in, which would lower temperatures and raise humidity. The late morning temperature was a moderate 75 degrees.
Even though conditions improved, firefighters remained cautious because of the steep terrain and unpredictable winds. Boyd said afternoon winds usually come from the west, but once they funnel into South Canyon along the Colorado River, they can shift directions with little notice.
Residents of 90 homes in the Canyon Creek Estates subdivision were evacuated Monday and Tuesday. The same homes had been threatened by the Storm King Fire, which claimed the lives of 14 firefighters in 1994, though no homes were lost. Storm King burned the east side of Canyon Creek, and this week’s fire is on the west.
Federal agencies and many counties in western Colorado have imposed fire bans because of high to extreme wildfire risk. The forecast called for the elevated threat to continue at least through Monday.
West of the New Castle fire, a second blaze had charred more than 1,000 remote and rugged acres but was nearly contained. All but 30 of the 120 firefighters were being sent home.
The Associate Press contributed to this report.
