Three new wildfires on Thursday burned more than 11,000 acres, forcing thousands of people to evacuate and hundreds of firefighters to respond.
A fire of more than 1,600 acres in Douglas County forced the evacuation of more than 8,500 people between Parker and Franktown on Thursday afternoon. Residents were allowed home a little after 8 p.m., when the fire was 50 percent contained.
Evacuated livestock, however, were not allowed to return immediately.
Farther out on the plains, a 5,100-acre fire briefly drove all 90 residents of Karval in Lincoln County from their homes. But when the winds suddenly shifted and flames turned away, the evacuation was halted, the Gazette reported. Karval is about 80 miles east of Colorado Springs.
And at the southern end of the Front Range, a 5,000-acre grass fire forced the evacuation of about 600 employees at the Pueblo Chemical Depot on Thursday afternoon. That fire was nearly 95 percent contained by late evening.
No homes were lost in any of the blazes, and there were no reported injuries. The Lincoln County fire consumed two county bridges on County Road N and burned a barn. A nearby home was spared, however.
The Burning Tree fire in Douglas County began in a 4-acre stand of trees near Franktown early Thursday afternoon.
The cause is unknown, and anyone with information can call local fire agencies or Douglas County law enforcement.
Near Golden, investigators determined Thursday that the 1,700-acre Indian Gulch fire, which started Sunday morning on Mount Galbraith, was caused by humans.
They do not know, however, how the fire started or who started it. A tip line has been established: 303-271-5612.
Gov. John Hickenlooper issued an emergency disaster declaration for the Indian Gulch fire Thursday, freeing up $1.5 million in state aid in that effort. The fire was 77 percent contained as of Thursday night.
Though roughly the same acreage as the Indian Gulch fire, the Douglas County blaze Thursday threatened far more homes and livestock.
About 150 firefighters from three counties, plus two helicopters and two air tankers kept at bay the flames that gobbled grass and scrub on the edges of yards and neighborhoods.
Most of the evacuees were allowed home about 6 p.m., as the fire moved southeast away from homes in the Pinery and Timbers subdivisions between Parker and Franktown. The rest were allowed home after 8 p.m., but all were told to be prepared to leave within 10 minutes’ notice.
Neighbors and volunteers scrambled to evacuate hundreds of horses in the path of the blaze in an area on the edge of the metro region known for ranches and stables.
A 4-mile evacuation radius was set around the fire because of the risk that the fast-moving fire might light up a densely populated neighborhood.
“We’ve had erratic winds all afternoon, so the evacuation was necessary to ensure the public safety,” said Anthony Valdez, deputy fire marshal for South Metro Fire Rescue.
During the height of the fight against the fire, gusts were hard and bitterly cold as a small collection of evacuees gathered in the parking lot at Ponderosa High School.
“Those winds scare me to death,” James Roach said. “I’ve thought for a month if somebody dropped a match you’d lose 1,000 acres in no time.”
Kit Harmon said she saw smoke from her backyard and got an automated emergency-notification call 10 minutes later.
She spent the afternoon waiting in her car at the Douglas County Fairgrounds in Castle Rock with her three dogs, Toby, Bailey and Heidi.
“If I lose my house, I have my animals, and that’s all I’m worried about,” Harmon said.
Helen Krieble, owner of the Colorado Horse Park, just north of Bayou Gulch Road and east of Ponderosa High School, safely evacuated all of the horses at the park.
Krieble said the fire was close and that she could see smoke building south and east of the park but did not see any flames.
As she continued to watch the fire, she said, the wind had started blowing the fire away from nearby structures and into open space east of the park.
But Krieble was still worried, she said.
“The slightest change in wind, and we’re in big trouble,” Krieble said.
A dry autumn and little snowfall had left a parched landscape across Colorado even before high winds raked across the region this week.
Fire officials this week have warned that a dry spring could create the worst fire season for Colorado since 2002, a season that saw 244,252 acres go up in flames, including the 138,000-acre Hayman fire.
Jordan Steffen: 303-954-1794 or jsteffen@denverpost.com
