DENVER—Firefighters battling two northern Colorado wildfires faced a setback Saturday when a plane used to drop fire retardant crashed through a fence at a suburban Denver airport, halting aerial firefighting efforts.
The slurry bomber crashed while landing at Rocky Mountain Metropolitan Airport in Broomfield. Both the pilot and the co-pilot were OK, according to the Jefferson County sheriff’s office.
Rangers at Rocky Mountain National Park suspended slurry drops used to fight the fires. There was no immediate word when the drops would resume.
The fire at the park has grown to 1,500 acres, or about 2 1/3 square miles, though it is in a remote wooded area. Another fire in Loveland has burned about 150 acres, less than a square mile.
Firefighters said a lightning strike probably caused the Rocky Mountain National Park blaze. The fire more than tripled in size from Friday to Saturday, but no structures were threatened. Twenty-four backcountry campers were evacuated.
In southern Colorado, a wildfire west of Canon City was contained. That fire, in Fremont County, left about 630 acres and a home and a barn scorched. Five other homes had some damage.
The cause was still under investigation. Fremont County sheriff’s deputies executed search warrants Friday at the Royal Gorge Route railroad.
The Pueblo Chieftain reports that the blaze started Monday in four different spots along the railroad tracks in the Royal Gorge canyon. Sheriff’s officials could not be reached for comment Friday to talk about the warrant.
Royal Gorge Route owners Mark and Leah Greksa said in a written statement Saturday that rail service would be suspended until at least July 2.
The Greskas did not directly address the search warrant but said that they were helping investigators and voluntarily decided to close the train route.
“We have been working around the clock with investigators and engineers,” the statement said.
The train is a popular tourist attraction, drawing about 100,000 riders a year with up to five daily trips in the summer. A spokeswoman for the rail company said passengers with tickets on canceled trips would get refunds.
Even farther south, a wildfire in Great Sand Dunes National Park that started June 6 continued to burn Saturday. The National Park Service says the Medano fire has burned about 8 1/2 square miles so far, though firefighters say the blaze is contained and doesn’t threaten structures.
Most of the park remains open, though smoke clouds were visible in parts of the San Luis Valley.
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Information from: KUSA-TV,
