Fire officials said Tuesday afternoon they have found three more homes that were destroyed in the Cold Springs fire near Nederland, bringing the total to eight.
The newly identified homes were at 47 Bonanza Dr., 1513 Ridge Rd. and 319 Sherwood Dr. Additionally, four more destroyed outbuildings — three of which were at one of the three destroyed homes that were newly discovered — were found.
“Most of these structures were deep within the burn scar with private driveways, off of unmarked roads or driveways,” emergency managers said in a news release. “In one instance the driveway was never found. They were also in an area that couldn’t be easily accessed due to residual heat, location, etc., until (Tuesday).”
This is what a raging forest fire leaves behind. Be careful with your campfires and cigarettes out of car windows.
— Helen H. Richardson (@hrichardson)
Authorities say a damage assessment team is now utilizing aerial imagery to try to identify any other structures or homes burned or damaged in the fire, which has died down significantly.
The bad news follows an announcement earlier in the day by officials at a community meeting that the fire is expected to be 25 percent contained by Tuesday evening. Residents there applauded the work of firefighters.
Incident commanders say they expect more containment on Wednesday.
Crews have begun mopping up the area within the perimeter of the as officials hope to continue keeping the flames contained. Evacuation orders for two areas south and east of the fire have been lifted.
Residents in areas still evacuated will be allowed back into their homes for a few hours on Wednesday morning, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle told those gathered at the meeting. Fire operations will be suspended during that process.
Proud of my husband FF Pat Richardson . See his pics from inside the fire.
— Helen H. Richardson (@hrichardson)
Commanders on Tuesday reduced the estimated size of the fire from 606 acres to 566 acres after better mapping was completed.
“The fire didn’t have a lot of activity overnight,” said Gabi Boerkircher, spokeswoman for the Boulder County Office of Emergency Management. “It kind of stayed where it was.”
Crews will continue their direct attack of the wildfire on Tuesday. Forecasters are calling for mostly sunny skies with a high temperature near 76 degrees.
Winds, which were gusty and erratic on Monday, are expected to be lower today with speeds between about 6 and 12 mph.
Tuesday’s efforts come after the fire on Monday, allowing the more than 475 firefighters at the scene to get a better handle on the lines. Eight total .
The fire began about 1:45 p.m. Saturday, from what officials say was a poorly extinguished campfire.
Jimmy Andrew Suggs, 28, and Zackary Ryan Kuykendall, 26, both of Vinemont, Ala., . They appeared in court Monday; bail was set at $200,000 for Kuykendall and $150,000 for Suggs.
Formal charges likely won’t be announced until Wednesday. According to an arrest affidavit, Suggs said that, “It had to been us (sic). There was no one else around.”
Investigators said Monday they were able to track down the pair after acting on tips that they were seen running from the area where the fire broke out.
Evacuations and road closures remain in place for areas nearest the fire, including Boulder Canyon.
The Peak to Peak highway has reopened and about 70 Sugarloaf-area residents and 730 people living in the Magnolia area have been allowed to return home.
About 2,000 people were evacuated at the height of the fire.
Peak to speak highway has reopened and here is a look at where officials believe the began.
— Jesse Aaron Paul ☀ (@JesseAPaul)
The Daily Camera contributed to this report.