In the morning aerial support will join the fight against a 200-acre wildfire burning in the foothills northwest of Livermore, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department said.
One structure has been lost in the blaze, but officials said it would be Tuesday morning before they could say whether it was a home or an outbuilding.
Thirteen homes were evacuated in the Boxer Ranch Road area, and 53 others are on standby to evacuate if conditions worsen.
Tuesday, ground crews from several northern Colorado fire departments will be joined by a helicopter and a fixed-wing heavy tanker. They will join a single engine air tanker that fought the fire this afternoon, the Sheriff’s Department stated.
The cause of the blaze which started about 12:30 p.m., is not yet known.
Large animals and livestock evacuated from the fire can be taken to the west barn at the in Loveland.
The fire, burning in timber, grass and other fuels in the foothills on private land, is in the vicinity of the Milton Seaman Reservoir, near where the Hewlett fire burned 7,685 acres over eight days last month.
Some of the smoke attributed to the fire turned out to be smoldering areas within the Hewlett fire burn area, the Larimer County Sheriff’s Department stated.
Pre-evacuation calls have been made to homes on each side of Larimer County Road 82E between Larimer County Road 80C and Larimer County Road 67J, including Cherokee Meadows Road.
Those leaving the fire area should go to the Livermore Community Hall at 1985 West Larimer County Road 74, about 1 ½ miles west of Red Feather Road.
Earlier Monday, the Larimer County commission on open fires, which was due to expire June 15, according to the Loveland Reporter Herald reported.
Several small wildland fires were reported across the state this afternoon, and weather forecasters say Tuesday could be ripe conditions for fast-growing blazes on the Western Slope.
The Little Sand Fire, 13 miles northwest of Pagosa Springs, has since it was started by lightning May 13 . The fire continues to smolder and creep in “rugged and inaccessible terrain,” the U.S. Forest Service says.
Fire conditions, however, are expected to worsen across most of western Colorado Tuesday.
There is a “red flag” critical fire danger warning from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday with humidities between 8 and 13 percent and wind gusts up to 30 mph.
Thunderstorms expected in Colorado could lightning with accompanying rain and erratic wind gusts, forecasters warned.
