Coloradans in Fremont and Costilla counties were still under mandatory evacuation orders Saturday as wildfires continued to burn roughly 100 miles apart on Fort Carson and in Chama Canyon.
The 24 fire is burning on 1,126 acres with no containment, Fort Carson officials said in a Saturday afternoon update, nearly doubling in size since Friday morning.
“High winds and hot, dry temperatures have increased the fire’s activity,” a spokesperson with the U.S. Army post near Colorado Springs said in a statement.
No injuries or structure damage has been reported and the fire continues to burn east of Colorado 115, which is closed in both directions from Rock Creek Park to milepost 21, 6 miles north of Penrose.
Approximately 80 homes along the highway corridor north of Penrose remain under mandatory evacuation, including a 2-mile area around Fremont County Road F45 and Colorado 115.
To the south, the Chama Canyon fire is burning on 141 acres of wildland in Costilla County, about 17 miles west of San Luis, fire officials said.
Firefighters have gained 50% containment on the wildfire using fire engines, heavy equipment and aircraft. While the fire did not grow significantly overnight, mandatory evacuations remain for people living along Costilla County roads L.7 and N.2, according to the county’s office of emergency management.
Colorado’s Front Range on Sunday will see a slight reprieve in record-breaking heat that has fueled dangerous fire conditions before temperatures return to the mid-to-high 80s later in the week, according to the National Weather Service.
