Lightning from thunderstorms that swept across the region this afternoon sparked a handful of fires in northern Boulder and southern Larimer counties, authorities said.
Most were put out, but one is still burning after consuming about 30 acres on public land near Coffintop Mountain in Boulder County.
About 15 homes were put on alert to evacuate, if necessary.
A fire near Blue Mountain in Larimer County was contained after it burned 5 acres.
In El Paso County, flames torched 300 acres of a Fort Carson training area where ordnance is detonated.
Maj. Ricardo Fregoso, spokesman for Fort Carson, told the Colorado Springs Gazette that firefighting crews couldn’t go into the heart of the fire because there could be unexploded ordnance there.
Instead, crews fought the fire from the perimeter. The cause of the fire was not immediately determined.
The fire risk was listed as critical for much of Colorado through 9 p.m. Thursday because of wind gusts up to 45 mph, temperatures in the 90s and humidity in the teens, according to the National Weather Service.
Many fire-prone areas are under fire restrictions.
Boulder County has banned open flames and fireworks in mountain areas, citing “explosive” conditions there.
Liquid and gas stoves, as well as fires in improved or maintained campgrounds, are still allowed, however.
The Pike and San Isabel national forests, as well as the Cimarron and Comanche national grasslands, banned campfires, charcoal broilers and coal- or wood-burning stoves, citing severe fire threats.
Restrictions include federal forest lands and grasslands in Jefferson, Douglas, Park, El Paso, Teller, Chaffee, Fremont, Huerfano, Saguache, Custer, Las Animas, Baca, Otero and Pueblo counties.
Wildfires in Colorado have burned more than 29,000 acres so far this month, according to state and federal fire databases.
