Colorado Wildfire Burns More Than 500 Homes, New Blazes in West
The Black Forest Fire, which has killed at least two people and has burned outside Colorado Springs for the past week, was 85 percent contained by Tuesday, according to authorities.
The most destructive fire in Colorado’s history has charred 22 square miles, destroyed 502 homes, and underscored concerns that prolonged drought conditions in the U.S. West could intensify this year’s fire season.
Fire incident commander Rich Harvey of the U.S. Forest Service told reporters rain, which fell over the burn area, had allowed crews to carve containment lines around all but one section of the blaze.
“It is anticipated we will identify additional homes considered to be a total loss,” El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said.
Investigators have pinpointed the area where they believe the fire started, but have not determined a cause, Maketa said. Roughly 2,600 people remain under evacuation orders, down from last week’s peak of about 38,000 individuals.
Other wildfires in California, Alaska and Arizona grew amid hot, dry conditions.
In California a fire believed to have spread from an unattended campfire on Sunday, threatened about 800 homes on Tuesday near Yosemite National Park, prompting evacuations, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).
There was no immediate word on precisely how many people had been evacuated because of the 1,600-acre (647 hectare) Carstens Fire in Northern California, which erupted near a state route leading to Yosemite National Park, Cal Fire said on its website.
The fire was 15 percent contained on Tuesday afternoon, authorities said. A Cal Fire representative was not immediately available for comment.
In Alaska record-high temperatures above 90 degrees in some areas contributed to the fast spreading of a spate of wildfires to 156 square miles overnight, up from 94 square miles on Monday.
In Arizona, a wildfire burning through tinder-dry forest land about 100 miles north of Phoenix, is forcing the mandatory evacuation of residents there, officials said.
The Doce Fire has burnt at least 70 acres in the Granite Basin area, a few miles from the city of Prescott, said Noel Fletcher, a spokeswoman for the Prescott National Forest.
The exact number of homes under evacuation was not immediately clear, and a call to the local Yavapai County Sheriff’s Office was not returned.