Winds gusting up to 60 mph drove a dangerous wildfire across open grasslands near homes and horse barns in rural Larimer County on Wednesday, forcing the evacuation of dozens of residents from two rural subdivisions southeast of Livermore.
As night fell and the winds calmed, residents were allowed home. No structures were burned. The Granite Ridge fire blackened about 100 acres of dry meadows near Cherokee Hills and Bonner Peak subdivisions along U.S. 287 between Laporte and Livermore, 21 miles northwest of Fort Collins.
“What a day,” said Jonathan Moore, 18, as he waited for the green light with his parents near Bonner Springs Ranch Road at 7 p.m. “It leaves a knot in your stomach when you don’t know what’s happening at your house every time the wind blows hard.”
The fire began about 2 p.m. when a transformer exploded in the wind on Deer Valley Lane, and its sparks found ready fuel in the dry grass, with wind to feed the embers.
“The grass is only about knee-high, but you could see flames 6 feet tall,” said Jim Moore, who had watched the fire from a ridge near his home.
Some residents were allowed home briefly with a deputy escort to tend to their animals, but no animal evacuations were necessary, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office.
About 80 firefighters from seven departments responded, but only a few firefighters were expected to remain overnight to maintain the fire lines.
In the early evening, about 50 residents gathered at Livermore Community Church, the usual meeting spot in an area prone to wildfires and evacuations.
“They’re just waiting for the wind and hoping it would rain,” said resident Jane Champion. “We get grass fires up here, but it’s the wind that makes this one unpredictable.”
