Carbondale residents were allowed to return home this afternoon after a windy blaze Tuesday forced the evacuation of about 500 homes west of town.
Several homes were damaged and one man was burned on his hands as the fire consumed more than 1,000 acres near Colorado Hwy 82 and Garfield County Road 100, also known as Catherine Stone Road. An area with a radius of three miles from the intersection of the two roads was evacuated Tuesday when the fire broke out.
The fire Tuesday jumped the Roaring Fork River and Hwy 82, which is the main road in the valley linking Glenwood Springs with Aspen.
By early evening, the fire was 100 percent contained. The weather turned to the firefighters’ advantage, with very cool temperatures and snow expected later today. On Tuesday, winds gusted to 60 mph, said Garfield County spokesperson Tamara Blackard.
“Every firefighter loves to says that the fire is out, but not every fire chief can say we did it all and no one got hurt,” Carbondale Fire Chief and Incident Commander Ron Leach said in a statement.
Some 47 agencies fought the fire with 140 personnel. Volunteers equaled that number.
The American Red Cross set up shelters at Roaring Fork High School in Carbondale and at the El Jebel Community Center.
Mike McPhee: 303-954-1409 or mmcphee@denverpost.com
