Wind-whipped wildfires devoured dry grass along the Front Range on Sunday, destroying vehicles, sweeping toward homes and occupying firefighters from Larimer to El Paso counties.
Greeley firefighters battled a blaze on the east side of the city that accelerated in grass and spread quickly, igniting woodpiles. The flames damaged a barn and siding on two houses.
Firefighters initially had trouble reaching the fire and lining up water, Greeley Fire Marshal Dale Lyman said.
“For a minute, it looked like we might be losing the battle. Thank goodness we were able to get water on those buildings,” he said.
The cause was uncertain; investigators were looking at whether perhaps an unpermitted fire played a role, he said. “That’s a strong possibility.”
East of Denver along Interstate 70, a brushfire south of Bennett burned about 100 acres. It damaged a guest house and two sheds and destroyed a dozen vehicles, including motorcycles and ATVs, officials said. Two firefighters were hurt slightly responding to that fire, which was contained.
“They’re putting out hot spots,” Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Julie Brooks said.
In Larimer County, the Poudre Fire Authority and the Wellington Fire Department extinguished a grassfire, according to the Larimer County Sheriff’s Office. And firefighters in eastern El Paso County snuffed a 5-acre blaze at Hanover.
The National Weather Service had issued a “red flag” warning due to temperatures around 87 degrees and wind gusting to 35 miles per hour in the Denver area. “We’re not sure what ignited those fires, but with the dry grass, it didn’t take long to take off. Those grasses are very dry,” meteorologist Frank Cooper said.
The warning will be lifted as temperatures dip into the 70s on Monday, Cooper said. “But it’s still going to be dry.”
