The Cameron Peak fire approached Colorado State University’s mountain campus west of Fort Collins on Saturday, but prevention efforts have thus far spared any damage.
A host of sprinklers, hoses and pumps throughout the campus have been successful in keeping the fire from burning any structures, said Cass Cairns, spokeswoman for the Cameron Peak fire efforts.
On Friday, CSU President Joyce McConnell told the college community that the fire was expected to move through the mountain campus that day.
But as the fire approached, officials wetted the area through the network of hoses, sprinklers and pumps, as well as dropped retardant and conducted burns to protect structures, Cairns said.
“It is a success story at this point,” she said.
Yet fire officials are still worried about the satellite campus, as well as other nearby areas such as the Lutheran Sky Ranch Camp and Pingree Park, Cairns said.
Winds are expected to remain relatively light Saturday — a positive for firefighters — but temperatures remain above average and the relative humidity is so low that fuels are not retaining much moisture overnight, leaving them ripe for burning.
The Cameron Peak fire, the third largest in state history, has continued to expand in recent days, fueled by low relative humidity and record-high temperatures. As of Saturday morning, it had burned , 209 square miles, with 44% containment through the Roosevelt National Forest.
