Wildfire in Colorado’s Elbert and Lincoln counties burns over 5,000 acres, evacuation orders lifted
By Jennifer McRae, Austen Erblat
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COLORADO (KCNC) — A wildfire on Colorado’s Eastern Plains near Limon has been 100% contained after burning for several hours. Elbert and Lincoln counties ordered evacuations Tuesday afternoon, but they were lifted as of 5 p.m.
Fire crews have stopped the fire from moving, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control, and crews are starting to patrol and mop up the area. But earlier in the day, the fire was moving fast, due to high wind speeds and dry conditions.
Elbert County Undersheriff Dave Fisher said the fire “was jumping roads right and left.”
No injuries have been reported and no structures in the rural area were lost. Officials estimated that about 24 homes were in the evacuation zone.
State fire officials estimated the fire to be between 5,000 and 10,000 acres but said it was difficult to get a precise measurement, as the planes that typically map fires couldn’t fly due to heavy winds in the area. State fire officials will fly over the area on Wednesday morning to map the actual size.
The origin of the fire is still unknown and an investigation will likely commence on Wednesday morning, Fisher said.
Satellite imagery posted by the Larkspur Fire Protection District showed a map of the area southwest of Limon, but fire officials say the fire was slightly north, near Highway 24 and County Road 169.
The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office had deputies in the area and Aurora Fire Rescue and the Ellicott Fire Protection District had units in the area assisting. In total, 15 fire engines, eight tenders, and seven chiefs and other support was present from mutual aid departments, according to the Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control.
Smoke from the fire could be seen from miles away, darkening the sky.
Yvonne Darling said she called 911 around noon after she saw the fire while on her mail route.
“Now they’re telling us we gotta leave but our house is right over there and we want to make sure what’s going on here, trying to keep our pets safe,” her husband Doug Darling told CBS News Colorado.
Yvonne said her sister was en route to their property, which they couldn’t even see through the smoke, to pick up their horse, Oreo.
One home was in the initial Elbert County evacuation area when the fire started, but officials still don’t know how many homes were in the Lincoln County evacuation area. The division described the area as “sparsely populated agricultural.”
Limon Police Officer Mike Hutton said he wasn’t sure where the fire started, but that fire crews were working near the area of County Roads 197 and 74.
“The fire crews are working really hard with the fire line right in that area to get it sustained and held at that point and I think they’re doing a really good job right now,” he said. “Everybody that’s going in there right now is very brave, doing great work over there. You lose visibility really quick and you just gotta slow roll and work your way out.”
No stranger to close calls, Hutton, who was shot three times while on duty in 2021, said he was evacuating homes on Tuesday when flames grew near, forcing him to drive through a field to escape.
“Fire kinda got on both sides of the road, so I ended up having to drive through a field and just- one of my buddies guided me out through GPS just so I could find my way out,” he said.
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