A 12-acre fire near Conifer on Tuesday afternoon was started by a tree falling into a power line, while a 2-acre fire 7 miles west of Evergreen was caused by ash from a smoldering slash pile, officials said today.
High winds fanned the flames of the two fires that broke out in rugged terrain within 10 minutes of each other.
The 12-acre fire near U.S. 285 and Foxton Road started about 11:30 a.m. and prompted an emergency phone notification to 340 homes to evacuate to Conifer High School.
Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman Jacki Kelley said by the time fire crews brought the Conifer fire under control around 3:30 p.m. the winds had begun to calm.
Evacuated residents were allowed to return to their homes about 6 p.m. Tuesday; the fire was declared completely contained at 8:52 a.m. on Wednesday.
Evergreen Fire Chief Garry DeJong said the other fire, 7 miles west of Evergreen, started around 11:20 a.m. Tuesday in a smoldering slash pile at 180 Nuthatch Road.
Although confined to 2 acres, the high winds and rugged terrain gave firefighters problems as they attempted to defend five homes from the fire, said DeJong.
DeJong said that the fire got within yards of one of the homes.
A total of eight pieces of equipment — including tenders, brush trucks and a fire engine — fought the Nuthatch blaze for about five hours.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to incorrect information provided by a source, the address of the 2-acre fire in Evergreen was incorrect. The fire originated in a slash pile at 180 Nuthatch Road.
