Heavy rains were a godsend across the Colorado mountains where wildfires have scorched hundreds of thousands of acres of timber and grasslands, authorities say.
Wildfires are burning across the state, particularly in Southern Colorado, which is in an extreme drought.
Here are the latest updates on wildfires across the state:
SPRING CREEK FIRE
Up to an inch of rain fell on the Spring Creek fire turning the tree-leaping behemoth into a smoldering, crawling wildfire that consumed only about 2,000 acres overnight.
“We still have fire creeping on the ground but we don’t have a lot of the tree torch activities,” said Lisa McNee, fire spokeswoman. “That was really good.”
Nature provided a huge lift to firefighting efforts after nine straight days in which the Spring Creek fire ravaged forests and gutted neighborhoods, making it the third largest wildfire in Colorado history.
The rains varied from about a tenth of an inch in the north end of the 105,000-acre fire to an inch around La Veta.
Containment jumped from only 5 percent to 35 percent in one day on Thursday. About 1,500 firefighters will work to extend and tie up lines around the wildfire on Friday.
The stubborn fire, which has been burning since June 27, has destroyed at least 132 homes and damaged another 119 homes. Those figures are expected to grow because authorities have not been able to enter several subdivisions to count the losses.
416 FIRE
The 54,129-acre fire was 45 percent contained as of Friday. Wet weather, showers and thunderstorms moved through the fire area Thursday. There’s another chance for wet weather on Friday.
“Fire behavior will be minimal due to precipitation and higher relative humidity,” fire officials said Thursday. As of Thursday, the fire, which started June 1, had an estimated cost of $28.9 million.
The fire continues to burn through rough and inaccessible terrain. No homes are under evacuation orders.
LAKE CHRISTINE FIRE
The fire was more than 2,700 acres Friday, and it had destroyed at least three homes.
On Friday Garfield County residents at Missouri Heights subdivision were allowed back in their homes.
The Eagle County Sheriff’s Office battled rumors Thursday about ICE agents being at evacuation centers.
“#LakeChristineFire Rumors of ICE officers outside shelters is false,” the sheriff’s office tweeted in Spanish.
Gov. John Hickenlooper will visit the Lake Christine fire area, as well as the Spring Creek fire area on Friday.
WESTON PASS FIRE
The fire, about nine miles southwest of Fairplay, has burned just under 13,000 acres and is 17 percent contained as of Friday.
Overnight, a total of .17 of an inch of rain fell on the fire area. Rain and thunderstorms are possible Friday.
After the fire breached the boundary of the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness, the U.S. Forest Service closed the entire wilderness area.
U.S. 285 remains closed in both directions between Fairplay and Antero Junction. There is no estimated reopening time and a detour has been set up using Colorado 9 and U.S. 24 through Hartsel, according to the state Department of Transportation.
More than 525 personnel are working on the blaze.
Wildfires in Colorado and the U.S.
The map shows active wildfire locations and all 2018 fire perimeters*. The map defaults to Colorado; to see all wildfires, click “U.S.” in the view area. Click the map layers icon in the top right corner of the map to change map backgrounds and to toggle active and contained fires, and perimeters. Click a marker or perimeter for details. To view the full map and a table of all 2018 wildfires, click here.
*Data comes from two sources, and , and could contain inconsistencies. Map by Kevin Hamm and Daniel J. Schneider.
.