LOVELAND — Firefighters took advantage of good weather Tuesday to battle the Reservoir Road fire but are prepared should winds pick up and cause a tougher fight today.
Conditions improved enough that officials allowed residents of the burn area to return home briefly to check on their property and take clothes, food and other items they needed.
“The fire is looking very good,” Terry Krasko, information officer with the Incident Management Team handling the fire, said at an afternoon media briefing.
The fire was 35 percent contained by Tuesday afternoon. Fire managers now report two homes and about 710 acres have been charred in the blaze, which has been blamed on a slash burn that flamed out of control Sunday morning.
The two residents believed responsible for the blaze have been interviewed by sheriff’s deputies, and charges are being weighed by the Larimer County district attorney, office spokeswoman Linda Jensen said. Their names have not been released.
The case files were scheduled to be dropped off with prosecutors late Tuesday for review.
“We will take time to look it over,” Jensen said, adding that a decision on charges will be made by later this week.
The fire is burning mostly on private land about 5 miles southwest of Loveland.
Federal forecasters early Tuesday were worried about a red-flag warning for the region that advised of winds in excess of 25 mph and humidity as low as 15 percent, but later said things are looking better for crews.
Winds may still gust to 35 mph this morning on the higher ridges of the fire area. Later in the day, winds should settle down to breezy levels.
“That should help the firefighters,” said incident meteorologist Lisa Kriederman.
Still, there is little or no moisture in the forecast for the near future.
“There doesn’t look like much for the next several days, and maybe just a chance on the weekend,” she said.
Krasko said firefighters would work in Tuesday’s remaining hours to mop up hot spots and strengthen the fire lines.
Throughout Tuesday, helitankers circled from Flatiron Reservoir, where they siphoned water into onboard tanks before heading back to the fire.
Firefighters also benefited from Monday’s weather, when light cloud cover reduced solar radiation, moderating temperature and humidity, Krasko said. “We saw moisture recovery in grasses, and that does slow the fire down.”
Residents who returned to their homes did so with an escort from Larimer County, usually a sheriff’s deputy. Diane and Buddy Miller were part of the first group allowed back in. They wanted to get the rest of the essentials they were forced to leave behind Sunday.
That included legal papers pertaining to them and their lawn-care business as well as cherished mementos.
“I’ve got my grandmother’s little gold band, and I know it’s not worth much moneywise, but to me it means everything,” Diane Miller said.
Buddy Miller was also hoping to rescue the guitar and amplifier he uses on the weekends while playing at Elks and Moose lodges from Cheyenne to Longmont.
Rick Roncka, 51, was looking for three cats he was unable to corral when he hurriedly evacuated.
Helen Grissom, 74, who has lived on Green Mountain Drive since 1963, needed to check on the freezer where she stockpiles food for winter.
And, she added, “clean socks would be nice.”
Tom McGhee: 303-954-1671 or tmcghee@denverpost.com
